One way to get yourself a cheap Cricut machine is to buy a busted one off eBay. Try searching for both "broken cricut" and "defective cricut". Often you can win one for as low as $0.99 plus shipping for a Personal or Create model, or somewhat more for an Expression. Unfortunately, the supply has greatly dwindled over time since they stopped making the original three models.

Where to get one

The main dealer of these machines, "websbestdeals," must have some exclusive arrangement with PC, because they (used to) seem to have a pretty inexhaustible supply of broken machines to sell.

Have patience and don't get carried away with your bid, it seems there will always be more listed within a few days.

Read the seller's description carefully to see what is included. Usually (but not always), they only include the power supply, but sometimes it comes with everything, cutting mat, blade holder, power adapter, cartridge, overlay and even the manual and warranty card. Once in a while they'll sell two for one, but missing one or both power adapters.

Sometimes the seller's description will tell you exactly the issue, as in the case with a dragging blade. I'm not quite sure yet what it means when "the blade makes a lot of noise", but the broken limit-switch wires definitely cause a horrible noise on startup. Many times they simply say "it has no power," which so far often (but not always) indicates a power supply or broken trace problem.

Mine didn't come with a cartridge!

If you don't have a real cartridge, you can make yourself a "Fake George" to at least get a machine with the stock firmware to start up fully. More details here. Basically, you just need to (carefully!) make something that will short together pins 4, 6, and 10 (or 11, 15, and 17) on the cartridge port, to fool the machine into using its own built-in "George and Basic Shapes" cartridge.

Don't rush to take the sides off the machine. Many times this won't be necessary, and it's hard to get the trim pieces off without doing at least cosmetic damage.

The way I do it is to use a thin bladed putty knife to get in between the trim and side cover (from the outside edge inwards), while pulling outwards with your other hand, to depress the little fingers that clip the trim piece on, one at a time. I've broken off quite a few of them with poor technique, but don't usually bother putting them back on anyways.

Once the trim piece is off you can get access to the 5 or 6 phillips-head screws holding the actual side cover on.

Accessing the Motherboard

Usually all the action happens in the bottom of the machine where the motherboard is located.

To access it, all you need is a long #1 phillips-head screwdriver. Roll the machine onto its back on a towel or something else soft, and remove the 8-or-so most obvious screws around the outside of the bottom cover. Then, tip the cover down and towards yourself like opening a panel. If you carefully tug a little on the wires leading up into the side covers you can get just enough slack to be able to rest it flat on the table while the machine is still on its back.

Problems and Solutions

Here are some of the things I have discovered so far while fixing a bunch of these machines:

Schematic

I don't have a schematic drawn up for these, but one of my Creates is an older model with only a 2-layer board. This makes the circuit far easier to figure out than the 3-layer boards that came later. The Expression board is nearly identical, so this should be of assistance for figuring out those issues as well.

Here are close-up photos of the full front and back side of the 2-layer Create board.

Broken USB Port

Many people have reported broken USB ports. Although I have never attempted this myself, others have reported success at replacing the part.

Broken Dials

It seems the dials are pretty easy to break if the machine falls onto its front side. The size dial is expendable if you use Make-the-Cut or other cutting software on your PC, but if you cut with cartridges or the pressure dial is broken you may not have much choice but to try and find a replacement dial.

Bad Power Supply

An Expression I got with a bad power supply would constantly turn on and off, like a turn signal on a car. On, off, on, off. Replacing the power brick with a known-good one from another machine solved the problem.

Broken Inner-layer PCB traces

So far, two Create machines have been suffering from broken traces in the middle layer of the circuit board. Fixing these can be challenging since you can't see the inner layer to know where it was supposed to connect to.

Fortunately, I have a working older revision of both Personal and Create motherboards that are only 2-layers, and there were virtually no changes to the parts connections or positions when PC switched to the 3-layer boards. This means you can visually trace the connections on the older board, and verify those connections on the newer (broken 3-layer) one.

I will be adding specifics here to help with this process for anyone who doesn't have the benefit of a 2-layer board for reference.

1) One machine's power button would light up when you turned it on, but nothing else would happen. This was isolated to two broken inner-layer traces leading from the 5V regulator to two nearby parts.

I successfully found and replaced the belt on my “warrantied” machine that the company had me cut the drive belt. It was simple, took about 20 mins.

Purchase the belt by the meter @ http://www.robotdigg.com/product/22/MXL-Belt,-6mm-Width-Open-Ended. You need to email the company before ordering online and they will send you a paypal payment request. You need 2 meters. Delivery took 20 days from China.

How I did it:
With the cut belt still in the machine, I took the cut side and stapled (with several staples) the new belt in the same alignment as the old belt. I then pulled the belt through very carefully because you do not want to have to open this machine up. After I had the belt fed through I disconnected the metal clip that attach the belt to the cutter. I did one side first, then hooked it to the drive. After this was done I pulled it tightly so I could determine the length that I needed on the other side. Once I completed this I then made a judgement call, I wanted the belt tight (to were I had to give it a little tug to fit it to the drive mount). I then temporarily affixed the other metal holder to the belt (leaving a couple inches of slack as a just in case I needed to make adjustments) and test fitted it. Once I determined that I took all the slack out I crimped down the metal pieces and hooked that side in.

This again was simple and could be done at home quickly. The total for shipping and 2 meters of this cord was $7.40.

This cord is a about 30% narrower than the original cord and does not have nylon on the teeth part. So far I have made several cuts with no issues, other than that some of the cartridges still do not read. But for a free machine, it works!!!!

Plus I still have enough belt for one more repair….

Edit 3/27/2014:

This page continues to have a steady stream of traffic and comments, thank you all for posting your problems and solutions alike!

Although I haven't done much trading in machines and parts, I've gotten a lot of requests for a few in particular, like the knobs and the plastic hinged arm from the cutter carriage, which I've mostly been unable to help with.

In order to try and help with this, whenever I find them out, I'll put up "known compatible" replacement part number/source information. I'm sure that the toothed belt, USB port, voltage regulator, and carriage end-stop button are in this category.

Secondly, if you have a broken machine, if you're not near Austin, Texas, I probably can't fix it for you.

But, if you need a specific part, or if you have already replaced your machine and want to get rid of the old one, send me a note and I'll see if I can help.

Offers of free or cheap donor machines and parts are always welcome. I don't do this as a business or to profit in any real way.

Unfortunately I only can deal with the "old" Personal, Create, Cake, and Expression machines. The Imagine and later generation machines like Mini and Expression2 are completely different and I cannot help aside from encouraging people to post any repair tips they may have about these.

In other news..

Last night I managed to ruin an Expression that I was trying to fix, one of the last in my "broken" pile My two already-working Expressions are currently out on loan and I needed one so I decided to see if I could finally get this one going.

The 5v regulator was fried, and got very hot quickly and smelled bad after turning the power on. I'm not sure why, but I did find (and fix) a pinched (and broken) ribbon cable for the display - perhaps it caused a short, causing the other issue. We'll never know.

Anyhow I misunderstood the part number when ordering and replaced it with an adjustable regulator of the same part number, which only output 1.2v since it wasn't configured properly. In trying to figure out my mistake, my multimeter probe shorted two pins together which sent 32v (or nearly) through everything it was connected to

The CPU now has a nice bulge in the middle and just gets hot instead of working at 5v. I considered trying to replace it, but the chip alone is about $13 and who knows what else is fried. The good news is I can take it apart and find new homes for the surviving (practically brand new and unused-looking) remains.

Moral of the story: the PROPER 5v voltage regulator for the Expression and Create (probably the Personal as well) is the LM2576−5 (5v fixed) and NOT the adjustable one.

Edit 4/28/2013:

At long last, I took a photo of the repairs for the "broken inner-layer traces" issue.

First photo shows the front of the board. The broken traces connect one of the inductor leads (circled) to the 5v voltage regulator and to the large capacitor below it.

This next photo shows where the jumpers were placed. Your mileage may vary, but this got mine working.

2) Another Create model would power up and boot fully, but the display would be either blank or show only a single line of pixels. Swapping out the display for another known-good one did not have any effect. This turned out to be a broken +5V power supply line to the OLED display connector. (pin 2, counting from the end with the red stripe). I repaired this one by adding a jumper over to the +5V power supply line on the keyboard connector an inch away.

Disconnected Cables

One expression, when you pushed the power button, would light up, but instead of booting would just beep three times and halt. This turned out to be simply a disconnected keyboard cable. The fix was simply to plug the cable back in to the motherboard.

Broken Limit Switch wires

Two different machines had this problem - they would start up okay, but when the carriage would slide all the way to right, it would crash at the end and make a horrible grinding noise. This indicates a problem with the button located in the right-side hidey-hole or the wires leading to it.

Upon removing the right-side cover, I discovered in one case that the pair of wires from the limit switch had been severed by the sharp edge of the metal motor bracket inside. Repairing the wires solved the problem. In another case, one of the wires had simply fallen off the switch, and I was able to just plug it back in.

Broken Solenoid wire

One Create would operate normally, except the cutting blade would not go up and down at all. A number of people have reported issues with very low cutting pressure as well.

Often, this is caused by broken or partly-broken solder joints at the top of the cutter carriage where the power wires attach. There (usually) is a blob of hot-glue on there to prevent the problem, but it doesn't always work.

If you have this kind of problem, remove the cover from the carriage and try poking or gently tugging on those wires and they may just fall right off. You should be able to remove the old hot glue by just peeling it off gently.

Space is pretty tight, but if you're careful you should be able to either resolder them directly or add a little piece of wire to extend them enough to re-attach. Putting a new blob of hot glue on top is also recommended.

Blade Dragging

This problem seems to be one of the most common, and the easiest to fix as well. The machine seems to operate normally, except that the blade drags in some places, cutting where it shouldn't, and hangs up in some places, not cutting where it should. Normally, the blade holder should move smoothly up and down. You should be able to push it down with no friction detected, and when released, it should move smoothly and freely back upwards.

In some cases, the lower of the two leaf springs in the cutter solenoid mechanism can get bent, causing a slight misalignment, which creates friction that causes the observed "dragging" behavior.

The fix for this is about the simplest of all: remove 3 screws covering the cutter carriage, and simply pinch with your fingers the upper and lower leaf springs together at the right hinge point. (Where the red circles are in the photo below). This should straighten the bent lower leaf spring and free up the movement.

Replacement Parts

The power brick is an 18v 2.5A switching power supply with a pretty standard cord end, so you could probably find something compatible, but you can get the real thing from PC itself for $9.99.

If you're looking for used parts, there used to be a few places to try, but they seem to have quit. I personally have a small number of bits and pieces for the Personal, Create, and Expression - but nothing for Expression 2, Mini, Imagine, or other later devices.

I'm not 100% certain, but the US Cutter Refine carriage looks identical from the photo.

Unsolved Machines

I have several machines that I have not yet repaired.

One is a Personal model that will often fail to boot, and show only dark squares on the LCD screen. It was described this way to me before I got it, worked fine upon receipt, but then stopped working again soon after. There must be a bad connection somewhere, because just picking it up and putting it down again will sometimes fix it.

Another is an Expression that, when powered on, the power light comes on, but nothing else, and the 5V regulator starts to get very hot. (see the 3/27/14 update where I toasted this one trying to fix it- the regulator WAS the problem).

Oh I’m so glad you wrote this! But unfortunately my problem isn’t on here! My imagine powers on but the LCD doesn’t work. Any ideas on how I can get it fixed? Or do you know anybody I can pay to fix it?
Thanks do much for any help you can provide with this!
Nikki

if the machine seems to work normally aside from the screen, make sure the cable is plugged in securely at both ends… If it’s powering on, but not completing the startup sequence with a beep, then you have other issues, probably power related.

Mine is the same, I’ve only used it a handful of times and now I can’t get the screen to light up. It works fine for connecting as I can sync it with no problems with my computer, just the screen on it is blank.

If you’ve already checked that the cable connecting the screen to the motherboard is securely fastened, the other possibility is lack of proper power to the screen. Remove the bottom cover of the machine (carefully, lay the machine on its back on a towel and protect the power cord), unplug the cable to the screen, and turn the machine on. Connect the black lead of a multimeter to a good ground (theres one at the lower left of the motherboard that is labeled GND), and probe the screen connection’s pins for power. There should be at least one with 5v dc and one with 12v dc. Turn the machine off, and switch your meter to the Ohms (resistance) setting. Leave the black lead connected to ground, and use the other lead to verify that at least one screen connector pin has a good ground (meter will read 0). I believe the power and ground pins are at opposite ends of the connector.

I’m thrilled someone can fix these, however, have you fixed one that says “Cartridge comm error”? PC says only THEY can fix it… great. Frankly I don’t know even who to take one to, it seems its a software issue.

I also get the same error. When I turn it on a takes awhile and the bar rolls slower and the start noises are slower. It takes a long time then beeps and says cartridge comm error. I have tried all of my cartridges and none of them work. usually if I turn the machine on and off a bunch of time I can eventually get it to turn on correctly, but now it stopped. It always has the error and is moving slow. Any thoughts?

Hi Penny,
I just happened across your post. Did you ever figure out your problem with the cartridge? mine does the same thing and still have yet to fix it and don’t know who I can take it to to get it fixed.
Thanks for any help you can give me!

I hadn’t used my Expression2 for a few months, due to illness, and when I plugged it in all I got was the Cricut screen at the beginning. I went “digging” around on their sites and found one that said, plug in your machine and connect it to your computer as it needs a format etc. So, I did as the site told me to at each stage and WALLAAAHHH!!! It works brilliantly now, also it was updated as well, also a couple of cartridges had more pics added to them…Hope this helps you, or someone at least …

Great Site! Lots of good info for those of us who won’t take ” Oh well, guess it’s just broken” for an answer. How about info on an Expression that boots up fine but won’t load a mat. It’s like it somehow is slipping in the drive mechanism. Haven’t had a chance to take it apart and look, but thought I would ask….

Did you find a solution to your mat not loading. I was having the same issue and (DUH!) realized I was using the wrong power supply. The one I had accidentally used belonged to my EHD, lower voltage than the cricut needed. I plugged mine in using the correct power supply and bingo it worked perfect.

Hi there,i am Tony from the United Kingdom,i too have had this problem.I found by taking the top of my imagine off, i could see on the right-hand side, that the large cog connecting to a smaller cog on the motor had in fact slid back on its spindle thus not engaging with the smaller cog from the motor.Just by pushing the big cog onto the spindle tighter,it engaged the smaller cog,i then tested the imagine and found that it then loaded the mat properly.I then applied some glue onto the spindle and cog so they were fixed more permantely,as it has been made without any securing washer whatsoever.After doing this i reassembled the cricut and have not had any more problems of it slipping.I think provo craft should have a fixing circlip attached to metal rod of this assembly on all their machines as i think this is a design flaw..
I have also noticed another design flaw in the Imagine which is,on the metal bar that the insert mat plastic guide is that there is quite a bit of side to side movement that can effect the calibration and final priciseness of the cutting out of printed images.You need to push the plastic guide to the left and then fit a spacer onto the metal bar to take up gap that is there between the plastic insert mat guide and the washer by the spring.In doing this ,you take up the gap so there is no chance of sideways movement by the plastic insert mat guide so when you calibrate it stays calibrated properly thus given you a more precise cut around your images….
Sorry a bit long winded but i hope this helps…
Tony…

Hi, Tony, I live in UK and my Cricut personal cutter has died on me. It will not switch on, though power seems to be going through the regulator (at least the little green light is on). I cannot get it to do anything. Is there anywhere in the UK where I can take it to get it fixed.

I have no information on any places that will repair them, although sometimes people will report that local generic tv/radio repair shops will try. Do you mean a green light on the power adapter or the power button on the machine lights up? I have had them die with the power button lighting up and nothing else. In several cases this was a failure in the 5V section, see the “broken inner layer traces” section in the FAQ.

Have you ever repaired the port in the back of a Cricut Expression? Mine is broken and just past the warranty, and of course, Cricut (ProvoCraFt) doesn’t repair them. Or if you know of someone who does repair the port, that would be very helpful. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I have the same problem as Jennifer. The port on the back (DC 18 V – 2.5 A) that accepts power from the power supply pin/cable has cracked into many pieces. I took out the pieces after gaining access by unscrewing the 7 screws from the bottom of the Cricut. This appears very fixable if I could just get that little part. Is this the “power brick” you refer to above? Where do we find these? Thanks!

Same here, just discovered my port is broken. When I click on the link I see many different parts. Is one on that list better than others? Could you recommend maybe where to take this to? For instance could I take it to a computer repair and they could possibly replace the usb port? Called cricut and they said no go with them.

I’m sorry, most repair places won’t want to deal with this kind of repair.. The digikey link would only be useful if you were thinking of trying to attempt the repair yourself or maybe had a handy friend. Sadly, otherwise, selling a broken machine on ebay and replacing with perhaps another used one is likely to be your cheapest solution.

My husband took it to a local computer repair store and they did indeed fix it! Took a couple of days but I am back to cutting! They gave me back the broken part so for those wondering it isn’t soddered (sp) on. It is possible I may have been able to do it but out of my comfort zone. For the others my same issue, it is worth checking with a computer repair store. Ours said if they could fix it they would charge us, if not no charge. Was worth the shot, glad we took it! Thank you for this blog, I never would have thought it was replaceable without it!

Mine is just past warranty pink expression and does the dragging thing Cuts the shape weird and makes a graiting noise whilst trying to cut. Not the blade or the housing tried in in my bug. I think it may be the one you have listed above. The easiest to fix. Thanks so much. Hope it works.

So my cricut fell sad day… the size dial broke. I kind of understand how you say to fix it but not really. Do I need to buy one for parts and do it my self? Do I take it somewhere? What do you suggest?

I have seen at least one place that advertises repair services, but it’s really cost-prohibitive once shipping two ways is included. Your best option is to buy the part and replace it yourself, I linked a couple of possible places you can get a replacement from. Once you get the #@#$ trim strip off, the end cap comes off easily with a few screws, and the broken part can be removed with a few more and some careful wiggling to get around the front door hinge. You’ll also need to open the bottom compartment to unplug the old part and plug the new one in. Always be very careful of the sharp metal edges, both to avoid cutting yourself but also to avoid pinching wires which can also easily be cut.

I have a Cricut Personal that I bought off of Ebay last year. It works great except I can not cut the images from any cartridge that requires the Shift key. The Shift key beeps and lights up, but it will not cut the images from Layer 2. Any suggestions? I am thinking of an Expressions purchase but leery after reading of problems on Cricut help site.

My carriage unit came off of the track and I can’t get all the wheels back on. Do you know how to put it back on? Provocraft couldn’t help me at all. Do I need to unscrew somewhere and then put it back on? Any help would be greatly appreciated since it is no longer under warranty!

My brother helped me figure it out! If you take the cover off of your carriage there is a small screw most likely with red paint on it below the top wheel, unscrew it & the top wheel will move down far enough for you to place the wheels on the rail. Once on the rail the put screw back into the spot you took it out of!! If you tip your machine back a little it’s easier to get the screw in. Place the carriage cover back on & it should be fixed! Any questions please email! Jennifer.rose112@gmail I’ve cut with mine & it works great! It’s the first time I’ve used it; I got a few months ago as a Birthday present, my mom has an imagine so I’ve just used that. So excited to use my pink expression tomorrow! I hope this can help, especially if the warranty isn’t valid! Good luck & Pls email to let me know if it works!

My machine was off the track when we got it. I took the cover off of the carriage (just three screws) and then was able to put the top roller wheel and the bottom left roller wheel on the track. After a bit of trying, I was able to ease the bottom right roller wheel back up onto the track. To be honest, it took several tries over several days, but it finally was angled just right and slid into place. I spent a bit of time originally trying to take off the nut over the bottom right bolt/screw holding the roller wheel on, as well as trying to get that bolt/screw to back out of the roller wheel, hoping that would give me enough clearance to get the wheel back onto the track, but the screw never loosened, and I don’t think it really helped anything at all in the process. ( just in case this might save someone the time to try that

Hello–I dropped my Expression 2 last night. The roller bar that feeds the mat in and out is now off–The pressure is uneven and the mat slides around during cutting. When a cut is finished and I eject the mat, it gets stuck on the cutting blade and won’t come out. My husband could attempt to fix it if he knew what he should be doing…Any help would be appreciated!

Good evening everhack. I’ve just resolved the issue with the expression 2 and the mat sliding about under cutting after either a knock or being dropped. You were right about the tension spring for the roller bar being the problem, the lever arm seems to get caught and just needs freeing up. A simple fix but a bit of a faff getting to it, a lot of screws and patience required. I tested the machine with the side covers off to make sure the lever was completely free and did several test cuts before putting back together. Hope this is helpful
Regards,
Darren (U.K)

I purchased an Expression on eBay listed as “used”, so it should have come in proper working order, but my mat was sliding. The issue for me was the lever arm. It has a rounded spot on the bottom that should sit on top of the roller bar end. It was not resting on the roller bar, had slid off and down so it was not putting pressure on the bar on the right side of the unit. I had to loosen the screws holding the lever arm and those holding another plate against it, then lift the bar near the spring with a screwdriver while pushing it back to rest on the roller bar end. It was a bit tricky an extra set of hands would have been helpful for the last part.

Thanks for posting the info here, without it I wouldn’t have been able to diagnose the problem.

Did anyone get an answer regarding how to fix this? My machine is a little over a month old. Worked perfect then all of a sudden now the mat slips when cutting. Its like the one side sticks or something so the other side moves out of shape. The mat just does not move smoothly under the rollers. I’ve tried different mats, changed my blade twice and tried with different papers but keeps happening. Helppppp.

I’m having the same problem with the cricut expression, the mat just slips all over the place. I checked the tension spring and there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with it. Is there any other suggestions? Thank you

My wife’s cricut expression won’t cut anymore. It powers up and moves around but doesn’t cut unless I push the blade down by hand. We did the standard reset but no luck. The blade doesn’t seem to go up and down. I ripped it open and checked the connectors and power does get to the mechanism (I applied power directly and the blade then went up and down) I traced the cable all the way back to the right hand side of the device(I took the side off and it was fastened securely to the board) Anyone have a solution on how to fix this. Is there maybe a hidden fuse or something that can be easily fixed.

I have a very similar problem, and ready to rip my hair out. The housing blade is moving up and down, however is leaving a very faint outline of the image. Cannot get it to cut. Have changed blades, no luck. PLEEEEEASE help. this personal cutter has hardly been used and out of warrenty.

Maybe you can help me!!! My cricut expression won’t cut from day 1. It powers up and moves around but doesn’t cut unless I push the blade down by hand! How can I fix the problem? How do I open the machine? You seems to be the only one who know something and might be able to help!! Thank you ! Avital

If the blade holder moves down when you press on it and bounces up again when you let go, then I would first remove the bottom cover and check that all the cables are securely attached to the main board (and not loose or completely detached).

If you don’t find anything obvious there, try taking the cover off the cutter carriage and inspect the wires that bring power to the carriage and make sure those connections are secure.

You can test for continuity between the terminals on the carriage and the other end where the cable plugs into the main board.

im having the same issue and cant get my *?&%ing this to cut! There are no loose wires, the blade housing moves up and down freely. I’ve done the reset and pinched the ends of the springs together…and updated the firmware and…NOTHING! Pleae help! i have used it so few times, I still have the original blade on!!

Hi Did you have any look in getting yours fixed my e2 is going through the motions and will score everything out but wont cut through the thinnest of paper or card . if you put ta little pressure on the blade housing it will then cut . I did manage to get it going once but it has reverted back to not cutting .

Hello. My Cricut Expression wont load/unload paper. The roller barely moves when you turn it on, but doesn’t budge at all when you load/unload. I called support, they say to buy a new machine. I did their reset. My husband also downloaded the firmware updates. Still no luck. He is taking it apart now to look at cboard, but I was hoping you had some suggestions, or have run into this issue before. Thank you!!

Can you tell if the belt is loose because there’s not enough tension, or are there missing teeth? I don’t believe there’s any adjustment possible, so as long as you find something actually wrong with the old belt, and check that the roller doesn’t bind up and cause the belt to strip. I wouldn’t expect it to just fail for no reason, so always best to try and understand the original cause..

Thanks again for the quick reply. There does seem to be a bit of play in the belt. No teeth missing. I will see if I can find a similar belt, likely at a vacuum repair shop. Provocraft doesn’t seem to have that part listed.

Yes the motor hums, but is VERY hard to get mat to load. There is some sort of sticky strip in front of the rollers that appears to be peeling up. Wonder if this could be the cause of loading problem. If so, how to I replace that?

You could try running without it and see if you have any issues.. Yes I’d clean off all the goo with alcohol or Goo Gone.
Might make a good replacement with a strip of very neatly-cut packing tape, or clear shelf paper?

I have a Cricut Expression. When I connect to power and turn on, only the “Power” button lights up, the remainder of the keypad and LCD are off. I had the power relay on the keypad circuit board replaced and the problem remains. I now think that this machine may have broken inner-layer traces as described above.
Thanks for the tips.

Hi Jean,
My wife’s Expression, which she has had for years now and has always worked fine, is experiencing the exact same symptom. Power light illuminates only, the rest of the machine is dead.
We’re you able to identify the problem?

my cricut is doing the same thing! one minute it is working perfectly fine, the next minute it won’t do anything. the green light on the power button lights up, but that’s it. helllpppp…. i have it all take apart, but i don’t see anything obvious.
karenc

I have a cricut mini & the plastic cradle holding the blade has broken. Can anyone tell me if this part is interchangeable from machine to machine. I can not seem to find a broken/defective mini for cheap but there are plenty of Expressions. If I knew the part off the expression would work, I would buy it and use it to replace the part on my mini. If anyone could help me with this I would appreciate it very much!!

Thank you! I did run across this the other day. I read that the baby bug and expression are interchangeable but I just wonder about the mini. I might just try it anyways because I am finding them on eBay for around 20 bucks shipped. If it doesn’t work then I haven’t wasted a lot of money and maybe I can use your tips to get it running instead! Thanks for you help and this website is def getting favorited!

So everyone knows, the blades on the Mini and on th expression/baby bug are Not interchangeable, HOWEVER, with a couple passes of electrical tape you can very easily (and inexpensibly) make it fit snugly enough to cut! This was a quick 5 minute fix and it has held up great so far and cut perfectly!

This sounds like the “broken inner layer board traces” problem I’ve fixed a few times and described in the FAQ. It requires a little detective work and skill with a multimeter & soldering iron, but should be fixable.

Wondering if you have ever run into this problem…I have a cricut expression that is dragging the blade just enough to scratch the paper, but not cut it, in the areas that the blade is supposed to not be making any marks at all. In the places that it is supposed to be making a cut, it is only scratching the paper also, and not cutting it, not even a weak cut. If I press down gently on the black arms that hold the blade housing, it then cuts through. I checked with FAQ on the provo craft website and it says that if you have this problem, that your machine needs to be replaced, but my guess is that they would probably say that for most of the problems you seem to be able to solve. Do you have any ideas how I could fix this problem? Thanks!

I already tried the “blade dragging” repair you mentioned above, and it is not helping it. It seems to be a bit of a different problem…even the opposite problem. The cutting mechanism will not go down far enough to make a cut, it only scratches the paper, so it’s not really a “dragging” issue, where the blade will not lift high enough and makes cuts where it shouldn’t. Could it be some kind of connection problem with the “pressure” button? I have it set on MAX, but it is definitely not giving me MAX pressure. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Hi
I want to thank you because you have saved me a whole heap of money My mum sent me her cricut create when she upgraded. It worked fine before being sent to me so I guess the postal service damaged it when they chucked it over the fence. Anyway the blade housing refused to go up and down and so I have spent months trying to get some resolution from Cricut/Provo. I tried resetting the machine, buying new blades, new housing, new mats etc etc and in the end provo told me it was not repairable. I came so close to throwing the thing out.
Then yesterday i came across this page and figured why not give it a go. I squeezed the 2 springs together as suggested and whadyaknow the machine is now up and running perfectly. Thank you sooooooo much.
And to think if I had followed provo/cricut advice I would have purchased a new one all because of such a small problem easily resolved. Provo/Cricut need to stop ripping people off and be honest about fixing these things.

My machine will not turn on either, just like Denece’s post. No help from provocraft except to say I can always buy another one. Can someone help here? It is not the power brick and I am frustrated. Thank you!

If you tried the reset button inside, it could be one of two things…either where you plug your adapter in has a broken solder and if it’s not that then it’s the circuity that is under the top instrument panel. Not many ppl fix these wafer borads anymore but if you google SMD soldering or surface mount soldering those guys can usually fix the board.

I have this problem too. Just bought a used cricut original for my daughter las Sunday. It worked fine until Monday night. We tried to use the Craft Room and connected it to the computer. When I turned off the cricut and then tried to turn it on again it would not go on anymore. You press the on button and absolutely nothing happens. There’s power to the machine because the little green light is on on the power transformer/adaptor, whatever that thing is called.

Me again. OK, so I took the side of it off last night, following instructions on this page and others around the web (it put up a good fight) and checked it. There was absolutely nothing wrong inside. Nothing was loose, nothing was out of place, everything was doing what it was meant to do. I used the reset button, I prayed over it. Nothing. Completely dead. This morning I pressed the power button more out of habit than anything, and lo and behold, it turned on! I sincerely cannot take credit for having “fixed it” as I truly didn’t do anything except push things in that were already properly pushed in. Maybe my prayer was answered, or maybe these machines are just hugely temperamental. I don’t know.

Hi, I recently purchased a cricut expression machine and it came broken. The machine is jammed. The part where the cutting blade is attached is not properly aligned. One wheel is on the track and the other is not. I am a bit afraid to try and take it apart but I beleive it is an easy fix and it is a brand new machine. I am under warranty but they ran out of the machine I bought and want to send me another one. I would like to fix mine if I can. Any tips?

Hello, I have the same problem with my new expression, where the blade unit is off tracks and it make a horrible noise when it tries to go back to its starting position. I noticed that the little white wheels are out of the tracks, Cricut told me that i need to replace the part, but i think it can be fixed. Can someone helps me please!

Check out Jennifer’s comment above from October 12th, 2012 – 02:00. She explains how to get the carriage back on the tracks (remove the carriage cover, loosen the screw with the red paint on it, and the wheel should move enough to get it back on the track, then tighten the screw back to where it started).

Hi I just brought my machine off of ebay and I never do that again. The problem with my machine is the screw that tightens the blade in is broken I have no way of keeping the blade in to do any cutting. Do you know were in quees n.y I can get it repaired I’m open to any self made tricks you may know of to hold the blade in.Thank you very much

The symptoms of my Cricut Personal are described exactly in the section Broken Limit Switch wires. I got the right side off, and all the wires seem okay. However, there was a spring rattling around loose: about 3/8″ long with a loop at each end. It looks like it would fit on a moving latch-like part, but it wouldn’t create any tension. Any clues for me?

I just thought of something (haven’t looked inside mine yet to check) but is the loose spring used to keep tension on the drive belt? A loose belt would probably make the same grinding noise as a limit switch problem..

The USB port on the back of my cricut broke. It fell off the table. One of the prongs is broken off. I am womdering if I can find a replacement part I emailed the one link for parts you had listed and the other I plan to call tomorrow (the headphones site). Wasn’t sure if you had another source. Or if a computer shop could repair. Thanks!

Wow.. the only “easily” replaceable part there is the whole motherboard itself.. But.. looking on Digikey it looks like you can buy just the connector, assuming you can handle the task of replacing it yourself..

Here’s a link to a selection of similar parts, maybe you can the right one here… Check the datasheets for exact measurements..

In the meantime, I don’t know a workaround for you… Perhaps if you have some basic woodworking tools you could try making one from wood.. Or maybe some Shapelock? It’s a kind of plastic that gets soft enough to mold by hand when you drop it in boiling water.. http://blog.makezine.com/2011/09/28/the-many-uses-of-shapelock/

Another suggestion, I bet you could make a serviceable replacement arm from HDPE plastic, aka garden-variety white plastic cutting board. You can buy them in 1/4″ thickness, then rough out the shape with a hand saw and drill for the pin hole. The plastic is quite strong and has enough flex that I bet it would hold up well.

I just fired up my cricut to make a Christmas present as well and wanted to cut some vinyl. It seems the pressure dial is stuck on high and there is no changing the setting. I’ve tried the “re-boot” and still not change. It doesn’t even recognize I’ve have moved the dial. Speed dial works as normal. Everything worked fine the last time I used it … a few weeks ago. Any help would be appreciated.

Rats. I’ve never fixed a busted pressure dial. If it’s not broken, but merely dirty, perhaps you could take off the left side cover and spray the guts of the knob really well with electronic contact cleaner, or maybe even just air?

I will have to try that. I tried using heavy cardstock w/it stuck at the pressure it’s at and it cuts all the way through even that. I guess I should be happy that at least it will still cut things for me… I had to make Christmas gifts with larger detailed vinyl letters because the extra pressure makes the small vinyl pieces tear.

Do you happen to know what firmware came on the 2009 models that were sold on Black Friday? I haven’t had any luck finding out. I thought about trying a reset but because of a program I use with it, I can’t afford to have it revert backwards to an older firmware or the program will no longer work with it

Before I pull apart my “Bertie” (Expression) I just wanted to check if his symptoms together mean anything different. He is scratching the surface when cutting, the blade appears to have the usual spring back as normal. His other symptoms are that the dial size will not change and is stuck on 2 1/2″ and the pressure and speed dials only show ‘min’ and ‘low’. The ‘clicking’ increments in the pressure and speed dials have delays – one click usually changes to the next depth or pressure level- when starting at the lowest ‘min’ setting and changing up I am getting one blank click and then a change to ‘low’ then the dial continues to turn until it stops but no change to the setting. (Sorry, trying to describe it best I can). I have changed blades and checked housing, tried other settings like fit-to-page and he adjusts the size to suit that function but still scratches the paper. I have adjusted the blade depth on the blade housing with no luck. I have tried the recommended reset from Provo Craft ( more than 6 times) and also the firmware update using Design Studio trial as I don’t have the full DS. Still nothing. He cut a sheet of stars and then immediately afterwards when a new mat was loaded, began the problems above. He is just shy of 2 years old and out of warranty. I have 3 new cartridges on the way and won’t be able to play if he doesn’t respond to treatment. Thank you for your suggestions above, I will try these if Provo Craft is no longer able to help.

An update, after leaving ‘Bertie’ switched off and unplugged for a week, reset again, I now have the speed and pressure dials working to medium – although medium is as high as the dial goes with non-registering spacing between. The size is still stuck on 2 1/2″ but hopefully by using Craft Room I’ll be able to get around that.

Do you mean the little rubber o-rings? You should be OK if there’s at least one or two contacting the cutting mat. To replace the ring, you will need to remove the roller bar and install a ring from another donor machine. I might be able to send you one if you need. The process to remove the roller bar is a bit involved but not terribly difficult; Can you get away without replacing it?

If you can take the broken o-ring (or one of the good ones) to a plumbing supply place (Ace, Lowes, Home Depot, etc), you may be able to find a match. Haven’t had issue with Cricut but did with my 6-needle embroidery machine and replaced all my rubber o-rings with ones found at Ace & Lowes. The color is different but who cares? I was so happy to find them—to drag this 80 pound machine in & then have to pay to have them put them on…well, solved for under $5 (and I have spares).

Please please can you describe how to remove the gray roller bar? My Cricut arrived wih the roller bars not touching so in turn the mat never catches and my paper never loads. From pictures if the machine and just looking at it, it looks as if the bar is set too high and needs to be dropped down. I cannot find any information on how to lower it and that is probably because 99% of these machines do not come with the roller bar on the top level. Please help! I’m a newbie and had such ambition!

I have a Cricut Imagine that I bought off of Ebay. The carriage for the ink cartridges will not drop down in order to insert ink cartridges. Provo Craft walked thru the update and that did not work. Would you know what the problem would be?

Thanks for all your time with this! I have a problem that I did not see listed (unless I some how missed it in my break from reading). Here goes … I have a cricut expression that the housing in the machine makes a grinding sound when it returns to the start position. It is a ‘new to me’ machine, and was lightly used before. I made just 3 cuts to try it out and it seems to cut fine. I am just worried that this grinding noise is going to wear the machine out or break/stop cutting soon. Thanks for your time.

Sounds to me like a problem with the button inside the carriage’s hidey-hole in the right side of the machine. Try taking the right side cover off and checking that the wires are securely attached to the button, and that they haven’t been cut by sharp sheet-metal edges. If these look ok, try removing the bottom cover and unplug/replug the cable into the motherboard.

It may work because it assumes the carriage has homed itself after a certain amount of time even without the signal from the homing button.

I just got a cricut create machine which I ordered on line from ebay and it doesn’t have the tightening nut to hold the blade housing closed. I was just wondering if I can find something at the local hardware store or if I should order the part on line?

I have an Expression. I bought it two years ago. I hardly had time to use it. Now that I’ve used it for the 4th or 5th time, I load the mat, the carriage moves or it starts to cut, then it just shuts off. I’ve checked the plug, used a similar plug w/same amps & voltage. Still just shuts off. When I turn it on, then when the carriage moves or the machine jolts, then it just shuts off. Sometimes after it shuts off, I go to hit the power button and it goes on and clicks off. This machine is practically new. My husband, engineer by trade, could probably replace the parts if he had an idea what the problem is. Thank you!

I purchased a used Cricut Imagine that looks like new. I had a small cricut for years and a lot of cartridges. when I put the cartridge on left side, it reads out that I need a update. I tried to update but it would not load from computer to machine(they tried from cricut to help me) Every thing comes up on screen and seem to be find. I follow instructions to cut out something, I put mat into machine it will take mat and then pushs mat back out. The lady from cricut say it could be a bad port. What do you think? Also if you think it is, where could I purchase one? My husband say just scrap it. What do you think? Thank you so much if you could help me, I would really like to fix it

Thank you! I had the horrible grind upon startup, cartridges and gypsy not recognized and it wouldn’t load paper. I took the right side off, and one of the leads had dropped from the reset button. Plugged it back in, powered it up and voila – everythign was working! Taking the silver trim off and on was actually the hardest part! Thanks for the information!

The vibration of my Imagine caused my Gypsy to take a tumble. The port that connects my Gyspy to my Imagine has disconnected. When calling Provo Craft they simply told me to buy a new one. Any idea where I could get a replacement USB port and how to connect it?

I have an expression. It fell off a table and know when you turn it onanistic the blade moves to the right it makes the awful grinding noise. It won’t recognize cartridges and the LCD screen stays on the copyright screen. None of the other buttons are lit up either. I have taken it apart and all the wires seem to be plugged in and everything looks ok. Is there something else to look for or am I not seeing something that could be wrong?

I have included a repair I did, that I didn’t see covered here. Just thought I would address the motor bounce and cricut not cutting through material issue. No matter what setting. Thankshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7LJnfPdd08
Good work with this article.

I have a cricut mini, about 2 months old. I am having difficulty getting the mat to load in the machine. The rollers don’t catch the mat soon enough so that when it is finished loading, the mat is about an inch or more off of where it should be. Are issues with the roller easy to access and/or fix?

I have tried to check the rollers carefully and do not see anything on the top rollers, the bottom is hard to see. If I apply pressure to the mat, either a light push or pull, it moves with the rollers. But obviously, not very accurately lol

My daughter have a circuit create machine and and last week when we turned it on It started to make that loud noise when the blade motor moves from left to right and the noise stops when it reaches the far right .i appreciate it I you have any idea what could be causing that loud vibration noise thank you

hi, just want to thank you first for this website…what a kind thing to do for others!! I have a cricut that is just past the warranty. It does not power on at all. I tried a friend’s power cord that we know works and it still does nothing. What should I try now?

I have a cricut personal cutter that will work fine sometimes but then in the middle of the cut it just shuts off (although the power light is still on). I borrowed my sisters power cord thinking that was the problem and that didn’t help. I’ve gone through the standard reset and that doesn’t help. Sometimes if I push the cutting piece back and forth real fast the machine will kick back on and then work for a couple of minutes but then shuts down again. Have you had any experience with this or any idea of how to fix it? Any suggestion would be helpful as I am out of warranty. BTW I love this blog!

Can’t thank you enough for this site and the help I received here. My baby bug was
cutting across and ripping and tearing anything I cut. I reset it many times with the result that it would be ok for big simple cuts for a few hours. Every other site/blog that dealt with cutting issues said I needed a new machine, that nothing fixed this problem. Best day ever when I stumbled across your site giving clear instructions and photos showing where to press. Can’t believe that just by pressing on the spring thingie made such a difference! Thank you thank you. I don’t have the money to spend on a new machine and I am so pleased that my baby will work.

Does anyone know how to fix a gypsy device? I purchased a new one, but would like to know how to change the serial number from my old one to the new one? Worst case scenario I have to send them both back to the company to do this. But takes 2 weeks and a bunch of worrying about where it is and when it comes back!

Do you mean the belt has come off one or the other of the guide wheels on the ends?

You can take the side covers off by prying off the trim rings and removing the phillips head screws. The drive belt has a metal ring at one end that hooks over a slotted pin on the backside of the cutter carriage. If you unhook the end of the belt, you should be able to get it back over the drive sprockets before re-hooking it on the post. (take the end covers off first to see whats going on there)

Hi, I have a Cricut expression which seems to be mis aligned. It is very noticeable when cutting rounded objects for example when cutting letters like O or e the centre circle is lopsided and has little threads where the cutting hasn’t started and finished in the same place. Also when my cartirdge moves from right to left when loading or placing it in different positions of the cutting mat it is extermly noisly almost juddery (not sure if this is related to the cutting lopsided problem). Any have any tips for resolving this?? Thanks

Hi there- I’ve seen a number of complaints over time about issues like this (oval O’s), and just had a couple of ideas so far.

Ive seen this myself a few times when doing fairly small O’s and I think mostly due to the blade offset as it swivels.
‘
But, if you’re saying that even large circles are oval and the machine is unusually noisy, I would look for some kind of problem with the drive belt(s), or a loss of tension or maybe some missing or broken belt teeth.

The inaccuracy would come from the motors losing steps while moving by being unable to turn, or the belt’s teeth skipping on the rollers.

Try to wiggle the belts, see if either one feels sloppy. (The Expression also has a small belt for the paper feed inside the left cover, but the Personal and Create paper feeds are connected directly to the motor so no second belt.).

If the belts seem tight enough, try removing both side covers and examining the teeth inside the belt, looking for any messed up ones, also just look over the end wheel mechanisms checking for anything loose or sloppy. Try to wiggle the carriage left & right and move it all the way left & right, and see if the belt slips any or skips on the rollers.

There is slight play in the belt that the carriage is attached to (not sure how tight this should be?) Also i have moved the carriage all the way to left and right and doesn’t skip to jump or skip but it doesn’t feel smooth. Not sure how to explain it sort of feels abit sort of juddery like theres abit of resistance and then not and so on (again not sure if this is normal?)

I will try the other suggestions and also try cutting larger items and see if i have the same problem (can’t at the minute as I have just my mats to make sure they are all free of paper debris as seen suggestions on cricut forum that this could be the cause but doubt it as these mats are fairly new). And also I cut a butterfly and both antenna’s should be identical yet the right one was barely there as it cut it so thin, this can be down to mat or blade surely.

My partner has looked at my machine and said that the play in the belt doesn’t seem accessive and has took the sides off and nothing seems amiss there (no teeth missing etc) He seems to think it is something on the rollers at the back of the carriage. Do you know how/if you can take the carriage off or the top of the machine so I can get access to the rollers?

This will give you some additional access, and unhooking the belt may give you enough wiggle room to get the carriage off to inspect the wheels for junk. One of the wheels has a spring loaded pivot and I think you can get the carriage off if you can retract that pivot a bit. I have not personally tried this yet, but another person reported being able to re-install one that had fallen off the track.

Be careful of the solder joints on the leads to the solenoid, its hard to access where this wire is plugged in and just unplug it.

Good morning. I have an Expression like the one you described above stating:

1) One machine’s power button would light up when you turned it on, but nothing else would happen. This was isolated to two broken inner-layer traces leading from the 5V regulator to two nearby parts. (specifics TBA)

I would like to have the “specifics” on this to provide to my handy DH to see if he might be able to make an easy repair so that it is working again. Thanks for any insight you can provide.

Well DH took it completely apart but couldn’t find anything loose, disconnected or broken inside. As a result, I have now a Cricut Expression for sale for its parts (I told him not to worry about putting it back together!) No big loss on my end. This one had been sitting on a shelf for a couple of years not functioning anyway. Plus, i have moved on to bigger and better cutters as well. If interested in the parts let me know and I’ll ship it out.

My cricut is only 6 months old and all of a sudden, it started cutting wrong sizes. If I want a tree at 4 inches, it cuts at one. Tried to cut the baby in the moon on baby steps at 3 inches, and it cut at 6 or 7 inches. I haven’t seen this type of problem on web….any ideas???

Thanks so much for your site….gives me hope for this temperamental machine.

You have done an awesome job helping people and given some great information you can’t find elsewhere. I have a personal edition that powers on fine but the screen has random characters that you can’t make sense of as to what it is doing. I did a reset and then did the firware upgrades but all that did was change it from question marks and slashes to black squares. I know I read somewhere that you have one that is acting similar to this and had found the fix to be a jumper you connected. Is what I describe similar to what you had or do you thing it is something else. I just didn’t want to randomly tear this machine apart so I was just looking for a little clarification. Also I can use the keyboard to cut some letters but it doens’t always respond. I also can make it cut by connecting it to my pc and using MTC software but it does not always respond to commands their either. It will cut perfectly then it may say that it can’t be found or it’s froze up. Which I can then reboot the cricut and it will usually cut. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Nancy

I have a Cricut Expression that I bought off a local website. When I plugged it in, it seemed to be working until I tried to load paper. Didn’t know what was wrong with it so I took off the bottom to inspect the inside. Found the belt that makes the roller roll was broken. Do you have any extra belts or suggestions to replace it with? I tried a vacuum belt, but it was just a tad too short to fit around both rollers to work. Any suggestions would be great (No other machines around to “steal” the belt off them either).

It seems like there are quite a few machines out there with power problems. Unfortunately I have only fixed one of them so far, and I doubt they all have the same problem (see the section on “broken inner layer board traces”). The only way I was able to get mine figured out was to have a spare (working) board to compare against, as well as referring to the “typical usage” circuit in the 5v regulator datasheet, not to mention a smart friend to help me when I got stuck. Wish I could be more helpful. I highly doubt the size dial is the reason it won’t power up.

I have an Imagine that just quit cutting. When it powers up, the carriage makes a grinding noise. I called Provo craft and they had me reset and update my machine. Now it’s worse. I can’t get past the calibration screen because it won’t cut. Provo craft has no answers. Anyone else have this problem? What can I try? Thanks. You have a lot of other info that may come in handy in the future.

I Fixed It!!!! By keeping reading other people’s blogs, I can’t across someone with the grinding problem. There is a red reset button inside the right hand side of the machine. While it is off, move the blade carriage to the left and pull out the reset button. The grinding stopped and it allows the cricut to cut so it got past the calibration screen. I just had to play with the blade to get it to cut right by following instructions above(for a dragging blade) . Why didn’t the support people mention any of this???? Disappointed in customer service, but happy for others that post their results. I hope this helps someone.

I was looking at an Expression for my sis that was completely dead. No lights. 18V supply was all I had that fed up to keyboard. On that board I found a shorted surface mount transistor Q2. Apparently the relay driver. It’s an NPN transistor. I had one on hand and after replacing, unit fired right up.
(I used an RCA 215495) Maybe this will help someone.

I recently bought a cricut machine from a yard sale. When I try it it seems that the metal bar holding the cutter will not stay in place. I realize it is supposed to go up and down a little, but once it goes us it does not come back down so only half of my design is being cut. Anyone else experience this?

I just bought a cricut mini from someone and it worked great for a week. Now the blade is dragging acoss the page. It cuts everything. It won’t lift at all. I called the support people and they said I’ll have to buy another one because i don’t fall under their warranty. Anyone have any idea’s on how to fix it on the Mini??!!!

I am getting so frustrated with my create! It was working great, I unloaded paper and reloaded another color and it stopped cutting (yes within a few minutes!) I have taken it apart, finding no loose wires or connections, it still smells new! I still have the blade it came with on!(yes I have tried changing blades, did the reset, pinched the springy things, did the online firmware upadte, nothing works!) The blade thing goes up and down freely too (very springy)Please tell me you have something else for me to try?!?!

Check out Jennifer’s comment above from October 12th, 2012 – 02:00. She explains how to get the carriage back on the tracks (remove the carriage cover, loosen the screw with the red paint on it, and the wheel should move enough to get it back on the track, then tighten the screw back to where it started).

Our Expression took a power hit and wiped out the +5 volt regulator which I replaced and it now powers up and the cutting blade lifts to the upper position and homes. My problem now is that when it goes to cut there is no reverse voltage on the blade solenoid to drive the blade down. The pressure knob has no effect and the voltage drops to zero at the solenoid. I thought it was Q21 (JFET) but in the absence of a real schematic it is trial and error. Do you know of a source for a good replacement bd or at least a schematic?

Yes. Please measure the voltage across the red and blue wires on the connector in the lower right corner of the bd. These go out to the solenoid. I would like to know the voltage when the machine is just powered on and for each of the pressure dial setting.
Thanks.

At all pressure settings, when idling, I measured 3.6v, with the positive lead on the blue wire, and negative lead on the red wire. When measured against ground, the blue lead reads 4.44v, and the red lead 0.76v.

Ok here is a question for you, we just purchased a broken cricut from eBay and we have had much success with simple repairs. This one has me stumped. It powers on fine. But nothing moves. The rollers do not spin, the carriage does not travel. I do not see any signs of damage to the motherboard or any of the wires to all the various components. (Nothing pinched, cut, worn, or melted) When I trip the limit switch for the cut head it thinks its ok and will think it loads a mat and even cut. I did notice that the belts that turn the rollers and cut carriage move fairly free but while it thinks its cutting they become more difficult to move. But when it finishes “cutting” it goes back to the less resistance. What are your thoughts?

My apologies, I haven’t had time to mess with this as I’ve had bigger issues to deal with. Anyhow the steppers seem to be ok but upon removal of the mother board it looks like someone has already tried to fix it maybe? Some of the solder points don’t look like factory and there is a jumper wire soldered underneath. I have photos if you would like to see. Not sure where to go from here.

I’ve found rework and jumpers a few times myself. It could be post-production, but I have a feeling the original build quality was so bad that some had to be fixed before they ever left the factory. Whatever jumpers you find shouldn’t change the diagnostic process.. I won’t be able to fix it from a picture but maybe we could at least identify what the jumper was for.

Thank you for this forum! I received a BRAND NEW Cricut Expression as a warranty replacement for my previously broken Cricut Expression. Due to a family change, I no longer had time for scrapbooking. Now, over 17 months later, I finally pulled the machine out of the box for the first time. The machine will power up, but the LCD screen is completely blank. I have seen others mention that this is a problem as well. This machine has never even been used one single time. Are there any solutions known to resolve this? The warranty is long gone :(.

(replied privately previously, posting on the blog in case this helps anyone else. please do reply again with any further developments!)

Are you handy enough to use a screwdriver and voltmeter?

Couple suggestions for you… look at my blog post titled “how to remove your expression keyboard and use full length pens”, follow the instructions just to check that the display cable is secure at the keyboard end.

Next, remove the bottom cover and make sure the other end of the display cable is securely plugged into the motherboard.

Last, try to turn the machine on with the bottom cover removed, and probe the keyboard connections with your voltmeter. You should be able to find at least one pin that reads 5v and one that reads 12v. I don’t remember which offhand, but I can get back to you with that info if you need.

I think the only possibility is to replace the potentiometer (the part connected to the knob). These things are pretty fragile. Did your machine fall on its face? You might try contacting the parts source I linked to in the blog post to see if you can get a replacement knob-board.

Thank you for you very helpful site! My Expressioin had the broken limit switch wires symptoms (grinding noise and not reading cartridges). When I opened the right end I found the red/black wire hanging. The black piece had broken in half. Just superglued it and it is working great! Thanks again.

Not offhand, but the first thing I usually tell people is to make sure all cables are plugged in firmly at both ends. The upper end of the display cable can be squeezed just under the left side of the keyboard, no tools required. The lower end requires removing the bottom cover of the machine, its a gray ribbon cable at the left side of the motherboard.

Since the keyboard is lighting up partly though I’m suspicious that there may be one or more broken traces on the keyboard itself or the motherboard underneath.

Does the machine give any signs of working otherwise (I know it’s not “usable”) but I wonder if you are able to load an unload the cutting mat or move the carriage around with the cursor keys?

I have a cricut expression and all five keys in the third column do not work when selecting a character to cut. I have tried removing the keypad overlay and pressing hard, it doesn’t make any difference. All other keys work, it’s just this one column of keys. Any idea how to fix??

I’m going to guess one of the shift registers (chips) or more likely a broken trace on the keyboard is to blame. This is something I might be able to diagnose myself. I’ll contact you directly with more info since you should be able to remove the keyboard and send to me easier (and cheaper) than sending the whole machine assuming you’re interested.

My wife has a perfectly working Cricut Expression (the 24″ one). A friend gave me another Expression which has the grinding sound as mentioned in the “Broken Limit Switch wires” section. I removed the right side and the wires are in good condition. I tested the switch with my meter and it is also good. I tried manually shorting the pins to no avail.

I then took the mainboard from my wife’s original machine and replaced the mainboard of the malfunctioning machine and that made it work fine. Therefore I believe the problem is on the mainboard itself. Replaced the original mainboard and it grinds again.

Any thought on what I could check in the main-board to make sure this isn’t something I could fix myself?

I don’t believe there are any components on the mainboard between the processor pin and the limit switch other than a resistor. Most likely a break in that trace. Take a look at the large image I posted of the two-layer Expression board and see if you can identify the processor pin and resistor. It also could be that the ground or power connected to the other pin of the switch has become disconnected as well (actually this may be more likely). On your good expression board, probe both pins of the switch connector while the machine is on and see which one connects to ground (or +5) and check if your bad board does as well.

If you’re still stuck let me know and can determine for certain the answers to these two questions.

Hey, I got the cricut expressions 2 and it has a broken belt and the company sent her a new one, but I was hoping instead of buying a new one that maybe you would know where I could get a new belt or how to fix the broken one? Cricut told me that they don’t sell replacement parts, so that is a pain! Thanks

Wow – thank you a million times for your kindness to all us Cricut owners with ailing machines. I plan to bookmark this and share with friends in my online scrapbooking club!

I read from top to bottom and didn’t see my machine’s symptoms addressed, so here goes: When I turn my Expression on, the Unit powers up, lights up, but when I insert a cartridge and try to insert the paper, it tells me that there is no cartridge or that there’s a communication error and to restart the machine. Taking the cart out and re-inserting it only rarely fixes this; usually I have to turn the machine off and start all over several times. My carts work okay in the machine at my local Mikes, where I go for monthly crop nites and it does this with all of them so I don’t think it is the carts themselves that are bad. I am wondering if the part the cartridge is inserted in is worn out or something has gotten loose in there? Is it replaceable if I get another machine to cannibalize? Or would there be wires running to that part that might be loose, or broken, or ??

Then, once it finally recognizes the cart, and accepts the paper — I am usually good for several cuts (It seems to prefer single cuts to multiples) but then it will just STOP in the middle of a cut, and none of the keys on the keypad will work. I have to shut it off, turn it back on so it will unload the mat, and start all over, moving the cutter away from the original cut and resetting the paper size. By which time it may not recognize the cartridge again. I have wasted a lot of time and paper this way!

The machine worked fine when I bought it (“gently” used) about 2 years ago. It has never been dropped since I bought it, and I keep it in a C-gull case when not in use, so it isn’t left out to get dusty. The power cords all seem to work with other items my husband plugged into them. Can’t think of anything else I should be telling you …

Any help you can offer will be appreciated. I am not sure I can go beyond easy-peasy fixes, but would be willing to hand info off to our computer dudes. They’ve been up for the challenge when we’ve taken our laptops in with “real” problems!

Hi, Everhack – is the lack of a reply from you to my 6-20-13 post an indication that you are as stumped as I am?? I had hoped you could tell me what might be causing my machine not to recognize the cartridges, or what is making it stop dead in mid-cut… I’ll check back again… Thanks in advance for any suggestions! – LCJ

Im so sorry I did not respond sooner. It sure sounds to me like the metal fingers in the cartridge port are not making solid contact with the cartridge. With the cartridge removed, look closely at the fingers, see if any of them are obviously bent. Perhaps all of them are a little loose. You could try a test, make yourself a “fake george”, which shorts together 3 pins on the cartridge port and makes the machine use its built-in cartridge. You might be able to bend the fingers outwards a little so they grip better, perhaps with the tip of a tiny flathead screwdriver. If the fingers are just dirty, you could try spraying some “DeOxIt” on it, (available at Radio Shack, Frys, etc).

Let me know what happens! I do have another cartridge port in case its actually broken, they’re easy to replace.

I’m glad I found this post. I have a similar issue with my cartridge port on my cricut cake (same as expression). I decided to make a George cartridge without success. I got the error messages. Well after trying I inserted another regular cartridge (happy hauntings) and it read on the screen that George and basic shapes was inserted. I tried other carts and they all read George. . So now I have George and NOTHING else! I’ve tried resetting, updating, cleaning the port and no luck. Did I short out something? I need my cricut functioning ASAP…do u have any suggestions. If not what about a replacement port? Thanjs in advance !

Thanks for responding. I forgot to include that I have looked to at the pins…they all look the same. Using a paperclip…they all move the same (not jammed). I’m stumped there’s visually nothing wrong. I blew it out to make sure there was no debris in there. It otherwise works fine but the problem is half of my cartridges are already linked so I have to insert them to use them. Some I am able to cut using the cricut online software. Go figure I JUST bought a bunch of cartridges and can’t use all of them now :s And I bought it on ebay a month ago and obviously I did something to it (I’m the one in hundreds that the fake cart ruins the port).
my other option would be to replace the port with one from another cricut, but all the broken cricuts on ebay r selling for $70 and up! Because u have taken the machines apart do u know if that is even possible? This is the only post that’s even come close to addressing these issues and of course customer service was useless.

I tried making fake “George” and damaged my Cricut, too. I have successfully fixed several Cricut Expression machines, and have many parts laying around, so I tried different cartridge ports and even tried the non-working board on working machines. No matter where I put the board, I would always get the same issue, “George” no matter what I inserted. On the board that only read “George”, there was a little (I don’t know what the part is called) that was black, like when a fuse blows, while all the others were white. I think I fried something on the board. I also had a board with a cartridge comm error. Again, it didn’t matter where I moved it, I always got the same error for about 1/2 of my cartridges.

Hi, I didn’t see my cricut’s issue on here. All seems to be working fine, except it won’t cut. I’ve changed both settings and the blade multiple times. What I noticed is the blade housing does not go up and down to cut. If I push down lightly on it, it will cut. Any thoughts?

Try taking off the cover on the blade housing, and look closely at the wires to the top of the solenoid, maybe a broken solder joint or wire? If that all looks OK, try removing the bottom cover of the machine and look for loose connections in the plugs at the right side of the main board.

There was a wire disconnected at the top, under the blade housing. We soldered the wire, and it works wonderfully now. Thank you very much for your help! I’ll keep your website bookmarked for future reference.

Please help! I have the cricut personal cutter (with the little green screen) when I plug it in and push the power button the screen just flashed on and off over and over again until I turn it off. It also makes a little clicking sound every time it blinks. Please help

This sounds exactly like when I had a bad power brick. Do you have any friends you can borrow one from to test? This is one of the few replacement parts PC does sell. (or at least used to). Its an 18v 3amp if I recall correctly- you might also check the local thrift shop to see if they have any laptop power bricks which might work as well.

Hi there! Thanks for your blogs and posting information for Cricut Machines. Do you happen to have any pictures of where/what I should be looking for when checking for a broken limit switch? I pulled the side off and the front off the carriage but not exactly sure of what I am looking for. Thank you

I have a Cricut Imagine and it will print but not cut. I have gone back and forth with PC and they now state there is “nothing further we can do, we’ve done everything we can and since it is out of warranty…” basically your screwed and you will need to purchase a new one/refurbished which we have at good prices online. Are you kidding me!!!! Any ideas on what to do to fix this problem of not cutting.

Well, it looks like I have a problem that hasn’t been posted yet. I have an older “Personal Electronic Cutter”, model CRV001 with the dual-layer PCB. The unit has quit – the power button does not light up at all. I have visually inspected all the solder work on the bottom of the board and resoldered a couple of places that looked questionable. I pluged in the power adapter and am getting a green light coming on there. With my voltmeter I checked where the power connector is soldered to the board and am getting a clean 18 volts at that point. I traced backward from the power switch and found that it connects to the main PCB at the 4-pin plug identifed as J12. Assuming that black is ground, I am getting 18v at this plug also. This leads me to think that it’s in the small board where the switch is located. I can see a switch, a capacitor, a diode, a small IC package and a larger relay, part number HJR-3FF-S-Z. Have you encountered any units where something on this board has gone bad? Any ideas as to where I should see voltage and under what conditions? Thanks so much for your helpful advice!

Update on my broken Cricut (post from July 14). It appears that there was a cold solder joint on the small (1 inch by 1.5 inch) circut board that the power switch is mounted on. After removing the switch and board, I examined the back of the board and resoldered many of the joints on it. After checking to see that I hadn’t shorted between any traces, I put things back together and all is working normally now. I noted during troubleshooting that the quality of the solder work on my Cricut was not too good. My suggestion to readers who have tried everything else on their “dead” Cricuts is to get access to the back (solder side) of these circut boards and check them very carefully for bad solder joints.

I have a cricut imagine I believe the last time I used it was last year. My daughter wanted to learn how to use it. I went through it with her and getting ready to cut and the mat went in and the machine read that it couldn’t read the mat. But yet it grabbed it and took it in and stopped. I hit retry and it came out the other end. This thing is brand new and barely been used. I’m so frustrated. Can you tell me what the heck is wrong with it or talk me through fixing it. I’m thinking the infra red light is jacked up.
Please help

I’m sorry, I’ve no experience with the Imagine at all.. maybe someone else will come along with an idea? I always tell people the first thing to do is check the connections and so on, if there’s an infra red sensor perhaps the wires have gotten pinched or abraded and are shorting out or cut somehow?

I have a Cricut Personal that powers up but the roller bar is not working. I have removed the bottom and both ends. All connectors are intact. Any idea what the problem could be? If motor, can it be replaced ?
Thanks for all your input.

Very doubtful that the motor itself is fried. I’m going to take a wild guess that the power rail to the stepper driver transistors has a bad connection. While it’s powered up, try checking for good ground and positive voltage to each of the transistors for the affected motor. Flip the board over and check for solder points that are dull in color. Reflow suspicious ones with a soldering iron. As a quick check of the motor itself you can swap the connectors for the two motors (plug each one into the other’s socket).

Hi! I have a Cricut Cake machine that has worked perfectly until today. The power button turns and lights up but nothing else works. I’ve checked all the cables and tried different cartridges and pushed the red reset button but no luck. Also, I tried to update the firmware and it says it’s not connected. Any ideas???

This generally means there’s a problem in the power circuit. I’m assuming you also hear a relay click inside when you press the button. See the solutions posted for “broken inner layer traces” or the comment someone left about a fried transistor in the keyboard if I recall correctly. Do you or any of your friends know their way around a multimeter and soldering iron?

Hi! so I THINK my problem is in the rollers. My screen is just fine, the mat loads, and it will cut…. BUT the mat does not move properly forward/back and side to side. One roller seems to be off. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I didn’t quite understand what you meant about the mat not moving properly side to side, or that a roller seems to be off. Do you mean, one of the rubber wheels is missing, or that the wheels are not getting enough traction on the cutting mat?

My first inclination is to se your finger and try to lift the roller bar. It should be very tight against the bottom roller bar. If it’s at all loose, try taking off the right side cover and checking the tension spring that keeps it tight against the bottom roller.

I had a machine that would pull the mat in just fine, but once I started cutting, the mat would twist because there was no tension on one side of the roller bar. I opened up the end on the side that had no tension, and found that the roller bar was not seated properly behind the bracket the spring is attached to. I removed the spring and loosened the screw holding the bracket. Using a flat head screwdriver, I carefully pushed the roller bar back down and into place. Once it was seated properly, I tightened the screw and replaced the spring. Everything has been cutting fine since. Word of caution, be careful not the get the lubricant on the belt.

Hello I just bought a used expression 2 and it would let me get pass the firmware I have spoke to tech support and they have tried everything. So the outcome was that the motherboard has went out. Can it be replace or repaired.
Desperately seeking help.

I had a lightening strike close to the house, which affected quite a few electronics, including my circut imagine. At first I thoug it was just a power cord issue like my computer. So I got a new power cord yesterday and plugged in the cord and it appeared to resolve the issue until I tried to connect it to my computer through cricut craft room & USB cord. I received a message stating I needed to connect the machine, which was connected via the USB cord. I tried another USB cord but without success. I then tried to use a cartridge directly. It would recognize both cartridges, but once I clicked the next button for the cutting section it would display an hour glass for a minute or two and then just reset.
Any ideas?

I tried to use a cartridge directly, with out the computer. It would recognize both cartridges, allowed me to choose an object, but once I clicked the next button for the cutting section it would display an hour glass for a minute or two and then just reset.
I tried 2 different laptops/USB cords and neither were able to detect the machine. I also tried a friends machine with both computers and everything worked fine…ie the USB cord and Computer connection.
Thanks!

I have a feeling that the resets are caused by a fluctuation in voltage to the machine’s processor. It seems that your reset occurs right when it starts trying to run the motors that drive the carriage (perhaps both at the same time).

Have you tried using a different power supply on the Imagine? Perhaps it can no longer deliver enough current to drive everything at once.

hi feloow cricutters.. I have two expressions machines. both with the same problem. It comes on, but then it sort of stutters…. The head does not move more than e few millimetres and stutters again. Any advise..? PLEASE???? Kind regards, Liz.

I suspect a problem with the limit switch inside the carriage’s cubbyhole at the right end of the machine.

Here’s a quick check that doesn’t require taking anything apart: With the machine off, move the cutter carriage left with your hand until its near the middle somewhere. Turn the machine on. See if it moves all the way right and stops, or if it instead “crashes” into the right side and “stutters” as the drive belt starts skipping.

If it does “crash” and “stutter”, turn the machine off, and take off the right side cover. Inspect the wires leading to that button and see if there’s any kind of cut in the wire, or maybe its just fallen off. Failing this, look inside the bottom cover and check the other end of that wire, make sure it’s still plugged in.

Thank you for your kind reply. I am not too sure where the limit switch is…. i have opened the right cover and i dont see any loose or disconnected wires. I have tested the head of the machine by moving it to the middle manually. it does not moeve back, in fact it hardly moves at all! Please can you explain which wires i should check under the right cover of the machine? Could it be something on the circuit board? I am very dissapointed indeed. I live in South Africa, apologies for the time when this is posted. kind regards. Liz

If the carriage is not moving, then I doubt the switch is the problem. The limit switch is a little pushbutton located in the carriage’s hideyhole at the right end of its track. You can see it without taking anything apart, just by moving the carriage left and looking in.

Sounds to me more like perhaps a power problem to the motors. Can you load and unload the mat OK? Does the machine finish the self-test and think that it is OK? The motors run off a separate power circuit from the processor itself.

I cannot load a mat at all. The machine comes on, the head stuutters and thats it. The rest of the green buttons come on for a second or two and then dies, only the power button stays on. If i move the head to the middle, it does not move to the right, it stays where it is.

I bet anything the 18v supply to the motors is hosed, some problem with the voltage regulator circuit. Try looking at the inductors near the power regulators at the right side of the board inside the bottom cover of the machine. They look like little black heat-shrink covered cans. See if any are loose or toasty looking.

I will do that for sure, thank you. I read on the cricut site that one has to updat your software on the machine regularly via cricut sync. Do you think it could have somethinh to do with that perhaps? At this stage, I feel like thowing it in the trash can…

Hiya I have five cricut create machine-all faulty.A couple of them have blown inductors( I think that’s what they are called) On one board it’s L4 and the other board it’s L5. The others light up and don’t boot. Tried Provocraft but they don’t want to know tried selling me more machines If you can help I would appreciate it.
I’m in England

Make sure the inductor is actually blown rather than the trace to it from the power regulator. Check for continuity between the inductor leads (OK) but continuity to the power regulator (not OK). This is at the heart of the “broken power trace” problem I posted photos of. Look at the photos of the 2-layer board I posted and see if this helps.

Hiya,
Thanks for quick reply the inductors are blown in fact they are now non existent.
They were burnt and when touched just crumbled. I checked out the “broken trace” before I asked your advice. Do you think there was a power surge to blow these parts? Any idea what value they are, they look almost impossible to swap. I was thinking of taking some of the other boards. There is continuity to the regulator, I think I shall try swapping with one off the other boards.
Thanks again for your help. Great site.

Help My cricut expression wont turn on I have power to it Husband checked there is power all the way to the start button but won’t come on it was on then shut itself off I pressed on it come on then right back off now won’t do anything

I took a Cricut Cake out of the box for literally the first time. (gift for mom, but she hadnt used it) I plugged it in and the green power button lights up, but absolutely nothing else works. The digital is blank, the blade assembly doesnt move-nothing. I switched out the power cord with the one from my Cricut, but it didnt help. I did the reset twice, still nothing. Suggestions please?????

the power circuit is pretty flaky. if the power button light doesn’t even come on, suspect the button or relay. if it comes on but nothing else happens, suspect the 5v regulator or the inductors and their wiring.

My cricut imagine sounds stuck in the boot up sequence. It does not make it past the startup screen and repeats a looping clicking sound. I have tried a factory restart but that didn’t work. Any ideas on how to fix this issue?

When I try to start my cricut up the lights come on and the feeder spool spins, but when the grey housing unit moves to the right to prep for cut it sounds like it’s stuck and makes an awful grinding noise. The display screen sticks at the boot up page with software version, etc. Costumer Service says that it can’t be fixed but I have read that PC encourages people to throw product away. I feel that it can be fix they just don’t want to deal with it. Can someone help?!?

This sounds like the “broken limit switch wires” problem described in the article.. Try taking off the right side cover and checking that the wires are securely connected to the button, and that the connector is securely plugged into the board.

Tonight the roller bar or feeder bar, locked up on my Expression. I used it and it cut beautifully, then went to do another cut, and boom, nothing. It will not roll the mat to load it. It makes a bad noise when I first power it on, but soon makes it’s normal chirping sounds.
Any ideas will be helpful, thank you!

I have a cricut expressions and the usb port was broken. I ordered a new port and while I was desoldering the old one I pulled out the metallic tubes with the pins. I don’t know if they can be put back in or not…any thoughts

Ouch. Im not sure what the tubes are you are talking about. The only problem I can see is if the tubes are connecting the port to inner layer traces on the board, which won’t connect anymore after you replace the port. If you get the new one soldered on and it doesn’t start working, you might take a look at the 2-layer board photos I posted to see where those traces lead to and add jumpers.

Are the rubber rings slipping on the mat? The bar could be replaced if you are handy and bought a broken machine to steal one from.

You might check that the tension spring on the roller bar hasnt fallen off or broken first. I have not seen inside an expression 2, but in the older models the tension spring is in the right side of the machine.

I couldn’t be more frustrated with my machine. I’ve been so careful for the almost 2 yrs that I’ve owned it, and now it won’t stay on unless I am pushing the power jack into the connector. I suppose that I could pay someone to hold it into place while I man the machine. haha.

Anyway, I’m sooo glad that I found this site after a quick search. I’m hoping that I’ll find a solution, here. So far, I read that I may have to replace the power supply. I hope not. I mean…just…out of the blue it started doing this! I’m certainly not going to send it off for repairs b/c I haven’t even got the return on my investment, yet. Wish me good luck! -Stephanie

I bought my Provo Craft Personal Electric Cutter at a rummage sale and everything I try to cut gets cut in pieces, almost like the blade doesn’t lift up when it gets to the end of a job or the end of a line to start a new line. So all the creations are cut in half or have 3 or 4 pieces to it. Any suggestions on what to look for to fix this? thanks in advance.

Is there somewhere i can get a replacement usb port for the cricut cake? I tripped over the cord and it is lose. When I plug it in it will blink usb active several times and then back to the main start up screen. It won’t read the usb.

Hi, I have a 4 year old Expression and the stepping motor is not working properly anymore. I tried to order a new one but this one is made especially for Cricut (I think). Now someone offers me her broken Cricut Imagine. Do you know if the Imagine has the same stepping motor so I can switch it into mine and got mine working again?
I have to pay something for the broken machine and also for shipping so if I’m not sure it will work it’s a big risk.
Monique

Hi there- unfortunately I have never seen the inside of an Imagine – but, the other bugs all seem to have the same motors. So, chances are they are the same. The biggest risk in my mind is whether the problem lies in the motor or the control circuitry.

Hi there, I’ve taken the motor out of the Imagine. It’s the same as in the expression. But my machine still has the same problems. I think I give up and by another machine.
Anyway thanks for your support and your fantastic website.
Monique

This must be one of the most common issues I hear about. One or two people have reported that they were able to get theirs repaired locally by generic tv/radio repair shops, but I don’t have any information regarding the proper replacement port. Removing the old USB port to replace it can be tricky as well, but certainly possible in the right hands.

Everhack, thanks for all the info here. Great stuff.
I’ve got a question for you that I can’t find an answer to. I’ve got a brand new Expression (Pink) machine. It all powers up fine and everything, loads paper OK, but the cutter can’t move side to side. When I press the arrows on the machine, the up/down arrows force the mat to move in and out of the machine but when I hold down the left arrow, the cutter just kind of vibrates but stays pretty much in the same position.
As I said, it is a brand new machine and I can certainly get warranty on it but it will cost me a FORTUNE to ship it back to them. Have you got any ideas of anything I can try?

Is the belt attached to the cutter carriage? If you move the carriage side-to-side by hand, does the belt slip at any point? Does the belt seem to be loose in any way?

Unfortunately, to fix any of these things, you would need to find a new belt (which I have not yet found a source for) and/or to remove the right side cover of the machine, which would doubtlessly void your warranty.

Tragically, shipping is the single main reason why repairing the machines is not really a financially viable option outside of finding someone in your local area that can handle it.

Yes the belt is definitely attached to the cutter and it does not seem very loose at all. With the machine turned off and using some pressure, I can move the cartridge side to side. When it’s powered on though, it is very difficult to move. Is the stepper motor controlling this belt in the right side of the machine? Maybe I can open it up to see if there is something obvious?

Hmm.. All that sounds pretty normal. The motor is in the right side, yes. It’s hard to pop off the trim ring without damaging it though. Perhaps if you have a thin plastic shim to pop the latches, like a strip of credit card. I’ve never learned how to do it properly and never bothered putting them back on after.

Another possibility is removing the motherboard from inside the bottom cover and inspecting for cold (they look matte-silver rather than shiny) or broken solder joints to that stepper; perhaps the motor voltage is too low for some reason or the ground is not good. It should be getting 18v.

(Sorry pictures didn’t show up in last post)
Thanks very much for your suggestion. I tore it apart last night and fixed it!
Here is what I found (if you would like to use these pictures on your blog or anything, please go ahead):

I’m sorry, there’s just no way to know for sure what the issue is. If you’re pretty handy with a soldering iron and an ohmmeter, you might have a good shot at it. I have not run across a machine with this particular issue before. Perhaps it’s as simple as a bad solder joint, or broken or disconnected wire or connector. Or, it might be something completely different. If you’re feeling lucky, go for it, but I wouldn’t pay more than maybe $5 for the machine, on top of the $20 shipping. They rarely come with a blade holder or cartridge either, and will be necessary once you figure out the issue.

I am been trying to repair an Expression 2. The USB port was broken and I repaired that easily enough but now the device comes back as “unknown device” when I plug the usb cable into my computer. Anyt thoughts on what I might be able to try?

I am having a problem with my cricut. It won’t cut. I changed the blade, I changed the pressure setting and set the blade to max depth and it barely touches the paper. Any idea what I need to do to fix it?

Hello, my cricut broke today and it sounds like your description under the broken limit switch wires…do you have any more information on this? I am trying to figure out how to get to the inside of the machine and have only been able to take the bottom off. Will I need to get the sides off to attempt this repair? Thank you!!

I think it might have to do with the reset switch, when I took the side off and touched the back side of the reset witch the piece broke apart…what is it called, do you think I could replace it? I have a photo of it.

I do think you could replace it, the button doesn’t look very special to me, but I’m not certain where to get one. You might try Radio Shack or Fry’s. I think any button with the same approximate dimensions should work.

If all else fails, let me know and I will send you the one in the photo.

Do you have any idea what it might be called, the switch? It looks like all the local electronics repair places have closed and the guys at my radio shack are not well versed in switches…they told me to search the website..I just don’t know the proper term to search for. Thank you, again!

It’s on the right side, just in front of the right end of the carriage belt. In this photo the button is red, and has red wires coming off it. But, I’ve also seen black ones with black wires. If the right side of the machine is facing you, it will be to the left of the carriage belt.

If you move the carriage out of its hiding spot and look where it was, you will see the front of it.

Hi there,
I recently purchased a cricut on eBay and when I received it there was a broken piece. I found the place of it but was wondering how hard it is to take apart cause its right on the top cover piece and its what helps the machine to open when the power button is pressed. It’s the piece that helps the cover lift. Like right on the cover down the side of the button where it has those two pieces that fit into each other snuggly.

Ive got a cricut expression… at first it wouldnt run the lights would come on but that was it….i read your solution on he broken inner PCB traces and it helped but now i have to turn the cricut on and off three times before it will run right….it acts like it needs a kick start before it will run and it takes a minute before the screen comes on the first time any suggestions??

wow like its really slow. Im going to just guess, maybe you missed a bad connection (reflow the solder joints), or maybe there’s a fried component in the power circuit? check the voltages in various places, maybe they’re high, low, or fluctuating

Have this Cricut Imagine the wife bought off EBay. Well, it has not worked yet. I have pulled it apart, checked wires for signs of damage, and all connections. the problem is, not cutting. operations look normal, mat loads, comes back to ya for cutting, cutting head comes out, then does not do anything. mat spits out , machine says cutting done. Pulled cutting head out and disassembled. checked for continuity at all points, found no breaks, so I have reassembled and still acts the same. Not sure how to test the coil the proper way for shorts in the winding. Any Idea what going on with this Machine ??

Hi, my cricut expression do not open, 2 months ago it made a click sound turn the light on and turn off (about 2 secondes), but now it just doesn’t open no sound no lights on… I called cricut and sent me an new cable but still the same… is it the mother board or is it simply dead Cant you make a video how to open my cricut expression I did read your instruction but can’t open it… or send a link of a video how to make it I search everywhere and didn’t find anything. Please help me I can’t buy a new one… please please

Hi, my bf opened my cricut and disconnected all the cables, finally my cricut turn on BUT it makes a nasty noise while turning on like this vdeo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi4NAyDLB7w can you help us how to repair this please mister everhack !!!

I have an Expression 2 and the belt that drives the blade housing has started to peel. I am wondering if there is any place to purchase just the belt. I cannot find out what it is called or any other information on what this black belt is about. Please help me as I love my Expression 2 :). Thank you in advance for your help.

i have a pink cricut personal that powers on fine but the keypad isnt working correctly! for example i may press the letter c and it will unload the mat! it does seem like the left side is working somewhat but not like it should. i took the bottom off everthing was connected and nothing appeared to be broken. do you have any suggestions. i have also updated firmware several times and done several resets

Also…my display screen is pixilated when I turn on the cricut create…this was after I updated to a firmware for expressions rather than the correct update for a create.
do you know how to fix the display screen? or is this a software/firmware issue? Of course, this is when I tried to reset the cricut and now it wont turn on at all….. previous comment

hey, i have a cricut personal and it does not turn on at all. when i got it it would turn on but the feed would just keep spinning. i went to go move the cutter and it turned off. now nothing turns on but when i slide the cutter all the way to the left i see some of the buttons light up. I even got a new power supply, still nothing. any ideas on this??

most important thing is to make sure the blade holder moves smoothly throughout its travel, and springs back when you let go. there should be NO sense of anything “rubbing” at all. if this is all good, perhaps check the wires at the top of the housing to make sure you didnt perhaps dislodge a weak connection. The solder joints on the wires break often – perhaps when you did “the pinch” one of them came loose?

I can’t get my personal cutter to power up. I bought a new power cord but still nothing. The weird thing is, when I first turned it on, it came on. I left the room to get some paper and when I came back it was off. I’ve not been able to get it to power up since. It’s out of warranty, but I’ve probably only used it 12 times. Any ideas?

I just bought a brand new cricut so it came in the mail I take it he check it over it looks fine plug it in put in the blade start it up okay if ur in the front of the machine the Carrie goes to the right it’s supposed to go all the way to the end in the back of the housing or cover I guess and mines don’t go in that thing.. It gets stuck right there it’s just too far out.. Lot doesn’t stop there so I turn it off and put the cartridge in and turn the machine on it also doesn’t read the cartridge… It makes me sad I’ve waited a long time to purchase one and now this… I got like 8 brand new cartridges a tool kit and lots of new scrapbooking paper… I don’t know what too do about this problem… I don’t have a receipt cause I bought this odd of ebay. Help me pleez I need some direction.,,

I have a problem and hopefully you can help. My imagine powers on but the screen is black. I noticed that the connection from the machine to the LCD is cut in half. I think this happened from opening and closing the door too often. How can I get it working again???

Some how the back arm that holds the cutter in place has cracked and snapped off of my Expression. Can this piece be replaced or should I just buy new machine. (I have a person cricut for parts) Not fond of the E2. Please advise if you can.
Thank you so much

Im pretty sure the carriage is exactly the same between the three “original” Cricut machines. If you remove the carriage cover, and loosen the screw that tensions the spring (but dont completely remove it). It should allow you to remove the carriage. You’ll probably need to cut the wires at the solenoid and re-solder them on the expression.

Mr Everhack – resolved problem! Very easy actually and with my hubby’s help all went smooth.
Pressed the pin out of the broken arm, pressed pin out of my personal cricut (parts machine) good arm, pressed back in. Think it took longer to get the cover back on the cutter motor. (which really did not have to be removed to preform this fix)
Anyway, all fixed.
Thank you for being here and helping all of us solve problems that PC should be helping us with. Appreciate all you do.
Holly

This page is Awesome! My problem is my needle housing wont go up and down so I took it apart, and found a yellow and black wire both hooked up but I found a red and black that was not hooked to anything, I tried hot glueing the black to black and red to the yellow but no luck. Do you have any idea where these wires should go, or should I have to solder before the hot glue, not sure why they hot glued but that’s what I took off before I tried it again

The solenoid wires should be soldered to the cutter coil (the round metal thing) on top, you’ll find two metal contacts there. Solder the wires first, then the hot glue is supposed to go afterwards. The glue helps keep the moving of the wires from breaking the solder joint over time (in your case, I guess they failed!)

The yellow and black I believe are extras for some never-released accessory that would plug into the bottom of the carriage.

I purchased an imagine machine on ebay, and it cuts wonderfully, but unfortunately it needs to be updated, and the usb port on the back does not respond. I would like to take it apart to see if I can fix it, since I have checked with computer repair places locally and no one will fix it. How do I take off the cover, and can the usb port be fixed or replaced, so I can update my machine.

My Cricut Expression is less than 18 months old and used very little. When I was using it recently it stopped loading the paper. My husband opened up the machine and found the gear drive belt shredded. Does anyone know where to purchase a new drive belt? Have tried our local vacuum retailer/repair store, but he wasn’t able to help.

David~ I’m trying to figure out how to fix the size dial as mine just keeps spinning. I read you post but don’t see anywhere mentioned what the size dial is hooked up to or what wire needs to connect to where. I did open the side panel. As I’m looking into it, I don’t see where the size dial wire needs to be wired into. I do see the wheel is spinning and the spinner is connect to a blue little square thing. Is this the problem I need to address? If so, what do I do with it? Please help me, I want my machine back

Im not sure what you’re saying. Is the wire disconnected? The other end plugs in to the circuit board in the bottom of the machine. When you say the knob keeps spinning, do you mean the setting in the screen keeps changing by itself?

I bought an Imagine on the secondary market. It prints but does not pull the paper back in to cut. I’ve done the steps that Provo Craft suggested but still no luck. Do you think this is a fixable issue?

i have a new cricut and found that the housing blade holder that came with the machine wasn’t making cuts. i changed to a deep blade housing and now it cuts but everything i cut has to be on the highest setting. but at least i can cut. small items don’t cut as well.

Does anyone have a solution to the mat moving when cutting while using an Expression machine? I just purchased my expression off ebay, new in the box. It worked great for the first few cuts, but now when I cut the mat moves back and forth. I contacted Cricut CS and she said to push down on the roller bar to push it back in place. Wanted to see if anyone else had any luck fixing this problem. Thanks!

You might try removing the right side cover and checking for a problem with the roller bar tension spring. If you try and lift the roller bar at the right end with a finger, does it come up easily? You should not be able to lift it at all with just a finger.

My Cricut won’t load the mat, it makes the grinding noise and the rollers won’t turn. I went through the reset process and also tried pulling the red reset button out, since some people said they can get stuck in the depressed position. Unfortunately, the red button came completely out. It has an inch-long stick on one end, so kind of looks like a golf tee. I believe when it first came out, there was a spring on the stick part, but after I tried putting it back in, I couldn’t find the spring. The grinding and not taking the mat still exists.

Any ideas?? Can I get s replacement reset switch and/or the spring that it may or may not have?

If the button is broken, it causes the problem you describe. You’ll need to replace it- you should be able to find something nearly identical at Radio Shack or Frys. Unfortunately, I’m not certain whether the necessary button is the “normally open” or “normally closed” type. You could buy both kinds and return the one that didn’t fix the problem.

i bought a used cricut expression and was told it worked fine. come to find out, there is ONE small problem. the pressure dial doesnt do anything and the speed dial changes both. if i adjust my speed up, then the pressure will also go up. if i adjust it down, the other goes down. if my speed is 3, then my pressure is 3 and so on. so i can not cut at a low speed because my pressure will only be on a 1. ive tried resetting it and nothing changed. any idea on how to fix this? i have been working around it, but would love for it to work right!

I can’t say for SURE, but if you or anyone you know is handy with a soldering iron, I would remove the left and bottom covers from the machine. Remove the little board with the two dials on it, and maybe try “reflowing” all the solder joints on it. (That is, heat each solder blob up with the iron until it re-melts). Look especially for solder points where the surface is “matte” instead of “shiny”.

what a great site thanks so much for your effort. I bought a cricut cake from e-bay but the speed dial wont work ,the pressur dial and size dials don’t work either. size dial just spins . everything else seems ok , please can you help

Hi, I have a pink expression that the size dial is not working, so I took it apart and sure enough the (I have no idea what it’s called) thingy that the size dial is connected to is broken it two! I really don’t want to buy another whole cricut (for parts) and pay the shipping on it, for the little part. My question is, do you ever sell your extra parts?

I have a barely used Expression 2. I went to use it today and it comes on. The screen says Cricut Expression 2 but it never changes. Also, the carriage light comes on but it nor the load bar moves as it should at startup.

One is a Personal model that will often fail to boot, and show only dark squares on the LCD screen. It was described this way to me before I got it, worked fine upon receipt, but then stopped working again soon after.

For this error remove Q62 transistor S9013. Then boot and it will boot fine.It causes a dead ground.I am testing to see what it effects if you leave it out.
so far it passes all internal tests will have to try cutting.
Great Web-site Keep up the Good work.

How I did it:
With the cut belt still in the machine, I took the cut side and stapled (with several staples) the new belt in the same alignment as the old belt. I then pulled the belt through very carefully because you do not want to have to open this machine up. After I had the belt fed through I disconnected the metal clip that attach the belt to the cutter. I did one side first, then hooked it to the drive. After this was done I pulled it tightly so I could determine the length that I needed on the other side. Once I completed this I then made a judgement call, I wanted the belt tight (to were I had to give it a little tug to fit it to the drive mount). I then temporarily affixed the other metal holder to the belt (leaving a couple inches of slack as a just in case I needed to make adjustments) and test fitted it. Once I determined that I took all the slack out I crimped down the metal pieces and hooked that side in.

This again was simple and could be done at home quickly. The total for shipping and 2 meters of this cord was $7.40.

This cord is a about 30% narrower than the original cord and does not have nylon on the teeth part. So far I have made several cuts with no issues, other than that some of the cartridges still do not read. But for a free machine, it works!!!!

Hi- what a popular place for us crafters. anyway, I started to look through the comments to see if my question was there- but my husband said “don’t get sucked down a rabbit hole babe.” SO I will just ask- my Expression machine is starting to get really loud. like embarrassingly loud. Do you have any idea what this could be? Thanks in advance.

I have an expression and it comes on just fine. I have a gypsy and it cuts while hooked up to it. The second seven keys on the keypad, on all rows will not work. Have you ever seen this or know how to fix the issue?

You must have a broken trace or bad solder joint for that column. If you’re feeling adventurous you can try taking apart the keyboard and using a multimeter to test for continuity to try and find the bad connection. If one of the chips is fried it gets a little trickier.

Do you mean the board with the size wheel on it? The best thing would have to be replacing the board I guess. If you’re crafty you might be able to glue it back together and solder wires across the broken traces.. There are very few on it. I will sell you one for $10 shipped if you want.

I used the link you suggested to purchase a replacement USB port. In fact, I bought 2 just in case it goes out. I have a friend who is handy soldering and am considering asking him to help me replace it. I’ve taken my Expressions 2 apart and see the small circuit board where it is attached. When we solder it, do we have to use a heat sink to keep from frying the board? I don’t think my friend has one.

The thicker leads and metal tabs will require a lot more heat so yes you’ll need to be careful not to melt the plastic. The heat sink won’t help as much in this case as using a hotter iron, some extra flux, and working quickly I think.

I bought a cricut cake machine off ebay seller said it worked “fine” When I tried to use it the size dial would not change. It just stayed on 2 in. you can turn it around but it does nothing. I hope you can help getting it to work. I really overpaid for this. oh course the seller told me there was nothing wrong with it.so I feel really upset about this because I promised to do my granddaughter’s wedding cake in one week!!! I would really love your comments and thoughts on this. thank you.

the sizes dial break often.. I might be able to sell you a replacement size dial – but you will need to remove the cover on that side of the machine and send me a picture of your old one so I can make sure it matches. It would be $10 shipped if I have one.

Hi, my cricut machine doesn’t make a complete cut. I have set the blade and dial to the highest setting but it still won’t cut through the paper. It just scores the paper no complete cut. Please help…..

Have you tried checking the leaf springs on the cutter solenoid? (this is the fix where you take the cover off the carriage and squeeze at the top and bottom of the “hinge” to straighten bent springs. If the springs are bent it can cause the problem you are describing. Another (less likely) possibility is a poor or failing solder joint where the power wires attach at the top of the solenoid.

First off, thank you for what you do ; helping what seems to be a large club of broken Cricut owners. Its appreciated more than you know. My problem is with a machine I just bought off of eBay. Its a Cricut expression, 12×24. When I turn the machine on and it goes through of all the start up motions, the cutter cartridge doesn’t move. When it gets towards the end of the process, the cartridge vibrates and makes an awful sound. I can manually move the cartridge over to the left, and the start up will put it back in the home position, so it does move, but not to the left. THe belt looks find and I have done the reset thing but to no avail. The screen also just shows the start up display, regardless of what I push. Im not sure if this is because the cartridge is not in the “home” position, or if I have another problem altogether. Thanks in advance for any help!

This is almost definitely an issue with the button at the right side in the carriage’s hidey-hole, or its wires. Remove the right side cover of the machine and make sure the two wires are connected to the button, and not cut or pinched or damaged in any other way. Sometimes they get cut by the sharp metal edges in that area, or the button will simply fall apart, or one of the metal tabs will fall off.

The “awful sound” is the belt teeth skipping on the pulley as machine tries to return the carriage to the right side on startup. When there’s a problem with the button or its wires, the machine never knows when to turn off the motor, and just gives up after five seconds or so with a fatal error.

Have 2 expressions. One they had me cut belt on. Because they said it wouldn’t update correctly and sent me a new machine..I have used it one time. Then today I bought a used one that will only power on, as the power button turns green no sounds no other lights?? Hoping to make one machine out of two.. is that possible? Thanks!

Did you actually cut the belt? If so, I would try and figure out the update problem before trying to replace the belt or swapping circuit boards between machines. What happens when you power the machine on?

The second one sounds like a problem with the motherboard’s 5v power regulator or its associated board traces or components (an inductor and a capacitor or two).

Hi, I have the pink cricket (the breast cancer one) and it worked great. Now, it won’t cut unless I hold it with one finger but I then have to lift it up for the next cut. It seems like a spring or something is broken. It seems like its a simply fix but I just
haven’t figured it out yet. These machines cost so much and you truly dislike not using them at all. Ant suggestion would greatly be appreciated.
Thank you

Have you removed the cover from the cutter carriage? Just three phillips head screws. There is one coil spring on top that helps pull the cutter head up, you can check if it’s broken or funky. There’s also two leaf springs, on top and bottom, that dont break (as far as Ive seen), but they get bent and cause binding in the up/down movement.

Hi everyhack –
I have a completely dead Expression. Power adaptor works OK (voltage checked with a multimeter), and I have checked that the current gets to the motherboard OK. Can’t see any obvious issues such as fried components etc. Where would you start with diagnosing this?
Many thanks,
Rich

Definitely sounds like the 5V voltage regulator is fried, they’re not terribly hard or expensive to replace if you’re handy with a soldering iron and some solder wick. Check the associated capacitor and inductor and circuit traces while you’re at it. The datasheet for the regular shows how they’re connected in the “typical usage” diagram.

I ran across your website, after I cut my ribbon up on two machines so far. PC is suppose to be sending me replacements but in the meantime I thought I would take a look on the inside of my machine. I have an expression that would go through the motions, would even score the paper but was making no actual cuts. I read above about taking the cover off and checking for springs. I only see one spring and it appears to be working. What I do see and question if it’s right, are two wires, one black and one red not connected to anything. They are hanging loose. Is this normal or is it something I can simple reattach to where they belong, by a new ribbon and have a working machine? Thanks!

hi there- by ribbon, are you talking about the black rubber band that moves the carriage back and forth? I havent tried it myself but someone else did refer to a usable replacement source in the comments not too long ago.

at the top and boottom of the voice coil / solenoid (the shiny metal cylinder) there are plastic pieces and thin flat metal springs as I referred to in the FAQ (blade dragging issues), and one long thin coil spring that helps pull the blade housing back up.

the two wires should be soldered to two shiny metal solder points on a little brown board at the top of that metal cylinder. its a little tricky, but it is sometimes possible to resolder the wires. a blob of hot glue on it afterwards helps to help keep it from breaking again.

I forgot to say.. but if you have to, you can also remove the carriage from the track by loosening the screw on that long thin spring a bunch which should allow the top carriage wheel to come free of the track. if the drive belt is still attached, you can disconnect it from the carriage with a pair of pliers, on the right side of the rear of the carriage.. unhooking the end of the ribbon from the post on the carriage.

Yes the ribbon is the rubber band I am referring to. Thanks for you help. It appears as if PC ships refurbished machines out when they have to replace a machine that is under warranty. Seems a little fishy. Anyways, the place where I need to put the wires already has hot glue on it. Can I remove that to replace the wires or is it just ruined? I’d like to attempt this before I order the band. I do see where the fellow posted on purchasing one, thanks.

Yes they put hot glue on from the factory. You should just be able to peel off the old blobs with a fingernail or a small screwdriver. Your biggest problem will be if the wires are too short and you have to extend them a little.

Hi, I have a cricut imagine I bought use. The menu came up when I bought it. When I went to use it the light went on with the beginning picture, but the menu don’t come up. Do you know how to fix it Or what maybe wrong with it. Thank you

I have an original Expression that still works great but no longer cuts perfect circles. It is very strange. Circles come out wonky and more like ovals. I have already gotten a new machine a while ago, but still have this one sitting around. I’m just curious as to what the problem could be. Any ideas?

That is interesting.. I’ve heard of it before, but not seen it. Is it consistent? Two things that come to mind are maybe the pressure roller is slipping on the paper and not moving it far enough (perhaps check the tension spring in the right side cover?) or maybe some issue with the motor (inside the left cover) that moves the paper?

Perhaps it also broke the female power connector in the back of the Expression? You could try wiggling the plug around while pushing the power button to see if you get even a flicker of life, and to see if the connector seems looser than it should.

I’m having the same issue as i’ve seen in some of the comments above. On startup, my Cricut Expression makes a horrible grinding noise so I assume it’s the limit switch. The first time it did it, I did a hard reset and when I turned the machine back on after 20 minutes it was back to normal. Until the next time I tried to use it! It was back to grinding on startup. SO, I took the cover off the right side. No wires loose. I barely touched the wires where they go into the back of the switch and the black piece that connects the wires to the switch broke in half.

I have tried holding it in place while turning it on to see if that would work. No luck. I took the wires out of the black piece and touched them directly to the button. Still no luck. Any suggestions?

You guys are *awesome*. I picked up an Expression at a thrift store for $25, and it turned out that it suffered from broken traces in the same place! In fact, one of the jump wires was already in place from the factory, so it looks like they had a bad batch of boards at some point.

Thanks to you, I’ve now got a working Cricut Expression! Thanks for documenting this! I know how hard it can be to write these up sometimes

hey there to whomever is the master at answering Cricut malfunctioning issues. Here is where I am with the one I have. When I first got interested in the Die cut, I started with a Cricut mini which is now very lightly used (less than a year). At about its midpoint in the cutting area or cutting path from side to side. it seems to sound as though its gears are getting caught or maybe even stripped I have not taken it apart yet. I am wanting to figure out what it needs to return to a good functioning state and pass it along to my ex-sister-in-law’s mother as I now use the Cameo Silhouette (which blows me away on what I can do with it). Do you know of what could be causing this issue or know where I could look to find some info out on what to expect when inside of it? Computers I know well. I simply want a little advice from someone who has in fact take one apart so I don’t further mess anything up with it. Any help you could pass along would be AWESOME! Thanks any and all!
R. Maurer

I picked up a Cricut Imagine at a yard sale for a buck… it said that the screen didn’t work, and it needed a new power cord. The switching power cord is with it, but nothing happens when it is plugged in (as expected, since it was not working when I bought it). I was about to dump it in the trash when I found this site…now I will take it apart and see if I can fix it!! I will let you know if I am successful… now all I need is the manual to know how to work it when I get it fixed…

Hi I have a Cricut Imagine. It turns on, prints nicely but will not cut the imagines. I obviously called Provocraft we tried a few things over the phone and since it is not under warranty they basically said….no wait she did say “well there is nothing we can do and they don’t have people who can fix them even for a price”. I was sooooo mad that I couldn’t even talk. So basically I have an overpriced scrapbooking printer. Any ideas on this problem.:-)

I have a cricut create that, while cutting, the small black piece that holds the blade housing to The machine and moves it broke. I have not been able To find a replacement part for this and was hoping you could help me.

I bought a origanal cricut form someone online when I get it home the blade is draging cutting all my designs up. I tryed yr fit and new blade new mat. I’m sure my houseing moter that makes it go up and down is not working at all. All the wires are connected also. I was fully looking forward to a disconnected wire. My question is can I replace this part? Does it go out? I get no up and down move ment . I’m sure it’s sticking . I don’t know how one of these are suposed to feel as I recived it like this. I was assured it was in great working order. I’m starting To lose hope with people. How can you do this to people? I heard there is no parts for this? What steps can I take? I cannot afford a new one or I would have gone that route. I know this is late but I’m late on the cricut train lol thank you for yr help.

Curiosity question… I’ve had my Expression for 5 years. It’s been trouble-free, with the exception of keypad lights. From the beginning, the “Paper Saver” button on the main keypad doesn’t illuminate. (Far left, second from bottom.)
Are there individual bulbs below the keypad? I’ve been too afraid of ruining a working machine to try to take it apart and attempt to fix it, so I have just lived with it all this time. I may be to the point of daring – and replacing it if I do mess it up… (Although, I’m actually preferring my E1, over my friends’s new E2 – so far…)
Thanks for any info and all of the great info on this site!!!

I haven’t used my Expression 2 in a year or two. I turned it on today and the screen will not come on. The green power button comes on and the other buttons will light up for a second when pushed and the wheels will rotate and blade will go back and forth but nothing else. Totally black touch screen. Any advise??

If only the screen is dead, I would try first making sure the cable is firmly connected at both ends.. one end is just under the keyboard towards the left side. the other end is inside the bottom cover of the machine (8 or so small phillips screws). If nothing’s wrong with the cable, I would check for 12v power where the cable connects to the motherboard.. Can you see any super-faint writing if you look at a shallow angle or turn the overhead lights off?

I just purchased a cricut expression from a friend. It will load the mat but when I slect an image and press cut it won’t. The center point button comes on and it seems to glich is there anything u may suggest?

I have an Expression— broken of course.
When I turn it on the carriage keeps trying to return to the right. Of course it is already on the right. The noise is awful. Would that be the broken drive belt issue you were discussing?
I have an amazing grandson who can build a computer so surly he could fix this if that is what it is/
Any additional help would be considered a blessing.
Thanking you in advance,
Janice Gautreaux

Hi this is a classic “end stop button” issue; the little one inside the right end of the track (aka the “reset” button). Either the button is broken, or there’s a broken wire or bad connection back to the motherboard.

I have a Cricut Expression that is now broken and I’m hoping that you can help me either fix it or where I could find a replacement part. The silver metal piece in the back of the expression, where the power plug goes into came out when I unplugged the cord from the machine.

Hi Michelle- it’s quite likely you can fix it by replacing the power jack. You or someone handy should be able to take some measurements off the old one (accessed by removing the bottom cover of the machine), and find a suitable replacement part (Soldering required).

I’m having power supply problems. 18 v goes into 4 pin connector on this expression, and disappears up to the on switch, presumably. It comes back at about 5 Volts or less. How do I get access to the on/off switch. It seems the control panel should come off, but it’s very tight. Is there a trick to getting it off?
Thanks.

Found the Tianbo 18V coil relay has a series resistance of around 200 Ohm in the NO contacts, effectively dropping the 18 Volt supply rail back to the mother board. Bridging out the relay contacts, the thing boots up OK. Why do they use an 18V coil???? I’ll have to use a 12 Volt replacement with a series resistor to make the thing work properly!
Thanks for the help, Everhack.

I have a Cricut Expressions that was working ok and then after not being used for while totally flaked out on power up. Flashing lights.. as the power supply brick would overload and then recover. I took the unit apart and soldered in the jumpers on the PC board as you described. That made the power supply stable but by that time the damage was done and other than the power supply light going on and off, the Cricut seems to be dead. No response via the USB port at all. Obviously the Cricuts have some chronic PCB problems, which is too bad as it was an otherwise nice machine. Does anyone have another PCB that they would like to sell?

I have two machine…one with a broken power block and the other with a broken size dial….I’m in the process of opening up the machine with the broken power block to replace the broken dial in the other machine…Do you have instructions for replacing dial? I got the bottom and the machine off and don’t know where to go from here. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!…do you think it would be easier to replace the power block in the machine versus the size dial???

I’m not sure what you mean by a power block. Do you mean, it just doesn’t turn on?

The size dial is much easier to replace than to fix any power issues other than just using a different adapter. You’ll need to remove the side cover in addition to the bottom cover to get it off. Just a few screws hold it in. If a little gray piece falls out when you take the cover or dial off, superglue it back on the knob.

Can you please help me with this problem with my cricut expressions 2 machine. Cricut have said that they think that the bar may have moved and it is not fixable. The left hand roller will not grip and hold the cutting mat,causing the mat to swivel sideways jamming in the machine. Any suggestions would be great.
Mellissa

My screen is out so I’m using my gypsy to control everything but when I try to cut it says it can’t cut the design because the crucify and gypsy are not compatible with mat size I am currently using. I’ve tried r setting both but nothing had helped so far. Suggestions?

My wife and I live up in Georgetown and have a Circuit Cake that has suddenly become just a paper-weight! We have the dreaded “Power light comes on, but NOTHING else!” No buzz, no head movement, NADA! We tried a different power-supply and it didn’t fix it. We tried some “reset” hack we found online and that did NADA. Called customer support and that also did NADA!

Any chance I can bring the unit to you and have you take a look and see if you can repair? My big fat fingers aren’t so good with soldering and such….

Hi, as Alan write, my cricut expression do the same as his cricut cake, NADA, nothing. I tried also a new power supply but doesn’t fix it. I do the reset several times, but nothing different happen. The thing get worse, I bought the expression 2, and it have the same problem, exactly. BINGO. Only one use. Help me please. I like to do a lot of scrapbook. I live in Puerto Rico, Any suggestion?

try transistor “surface mount transistor Q2″ that powers up the relay – take a look in the comments on the site for “Ron” on May 30th, 2013. you may be able to get it running with a jumper wire if you cant test or replace the transistor

I have a cricut model crv001 and it turns on just like normal but the top row of buttons won’t do anything—I can’t do Layer 1 or Layer 2 since they are on the top row. I had it working the week before and when I went back with more paper the next week all of a sudden the top row of buttons won’t work. Anyone ever have anything like this happen before? I am in the middle of doing my sons invitations for his birthday would like to get this fixed ASAP!! Thanks!

Got a Cricut Imagine years ago…just opened it now to realize that 1) it doesn’t power on 2) the place where the ink goes (i guess the ink holder?) is missing. I read that I can order a new power cord, ok no problem. But can you suggest what I can do for the ink holder?

Perhaps the person meant “reset?” There is such a thing as a reset, but I’m quite sure it won’t fix a problem like yours. There is a very often seen transistor failure that can cause your exact issue. It’s number “Q2″ at the right side of the keyboard when you remove it.

Hey, I have an original “baby bug” machine that will light on, but nothing happens. My dad took it apart, and we figured out that the power relay board is going bad. He was able to tap it, and the machine would power up. Any idea where we can find a replacement for this part?

I got a Cricut Expression last Christmas as a gift. My husband bought it at an Essex store. I didnt get it out of the box until a month ago. I had a friend come over that has the same machine come over to help me learn how to use it. We entered the text that we wanted to cut, entered the paper. The machine appears to be cutting, but the blade is not going down to cut the letters. I have emailed Cricut, and they gave me a listing of what to do. However those items didnt work. HELP!!!! I want to use this machine for gifts….

Things to check are- power at the cutter solenoid (2 solder joints under hot glue near the top of the carriage, which sometimes break). loose connectors & broken wires. power to the small regulator that is attached on the underside of the machine (remove the bottom cover to reveal it).

I have cricut expression and it seems not wanting to cut , It moves around like it is cutting but it’s not pressing down hard enough to cut through the paper , the pressure is max and I have a brand new blade . you hold it with your finger it cut’s, but hardly leaves a scratch other wise please help rockstarmamastyle@gmail.com

If you’re handy with a voltmeter and soldering iron, your problem is probably a broken trace or solder joint somewhere along the trace that connects that column of button contacts (more likely); or (less likely) a toasted shift register chip on the circuit board.

Last year I purchased a lovely green expression…. which did not work straight out of the box. Cricut replaced it for me after a long involved back and forth and numerous emails. ( I and/or the mysteries of missing/wandering emails make up better than 50% of the blame for it taking so long). However, when it was finally replaced…. you guessed it, I got the plain Jane ugly version. So my question is, how difficult would it be to open the machines up and switch the guts/covers so I can have my green machine that I wanted?

Im not sure why things never seem to break while you’re actually using them.. BUT, your problem is somewhere in the 5v power circuit of the machine. If the power light doesn’t even come on, maybe it’s just the power adapter (test it for 18v output).

If the power light comes on, but nothing else, test the wires on the 4-wire harness at the right side of the motherboard (the big one with larger wires, leading to the right side of the keyboard). The red wire should have 18v anytime the power adapter is plugged in. The yellow wire should have 18v whenever you turn the machine on.

I have a cricuit expression. I was just wondering if you have come across problems with the machine where it goes through the motions of cutting out a letter but it only cuts out part of the letter. Thanks

Hi Tiffany- this is always one of two things – mechanical or power problems with the cutting mechanism. first and easiest thing to try is the “leaf spring” fix. then look for bad electrical connections starting at the top of the cutter (frequently the wires will stress-crack at the cutter end and reduce or totally eliminate the cutting power) – going back to the solenoid power circuit inside the bottom cover of the machine.

Hi, my Cricut expression is making the same grinding noise as others in this blog. Thanks to you, we were able to get the side off. My problem is the switch is broken. Do you know where I can get one? We glued the black plastic part that was broke, but it didn’t help. My husband then checked it with a meter and he says it’s bad. I’ve taken pics of this area that I can post for others wanting to take it apart, but I don’t know how to post them. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

I have a brand new Expression that was purchased in 2010 but is just being used as it was gifted to me. I made a couple of cuts and then the LCD screen when out on me. It flickers after so many uses. Is there a way to fix this issue?

Hi,
I am so excited to find your website. My cricut has been broke for a year. I looked on your website & it appears that it is the belt but, I wanted your help. When I turn my cricut on, it makes a loud noise & then it won’t let you do anything. What’s your thoughts?
Thanks, Rachel

Hi,
Thanks so much for helping all of us out.
I’ve got a broken cartridge cable (connecting the reader to the motherboard); do you know if this cable is easily replaceable or a part number I can look for?

Hi everyhack, this is Kathy. I too have the same problem Tiffany above has with when it starts each cut it hesitates and doesnt cut fully in the beginning. It finishes cutting nicely but at the begining, it lags before it starts. I did all of your trouble shooting above. I took the cover off and checked the spring, I pinched the corners. I checked the wiring like you said, all is connected and nothing loose. I did notice that while the machine is off, the needle nicely bounces up and down freely. Once I turn the machine on and its back in the chamber in the far right corner its pretty tight and the needle doesnt move freely and sticks when I press down on it. Is that normal? I dont know what else to do and am frustrated. I called customer suport and they said there was nothing they could do and I needed a new machine. They said they never heard of a problem like mine where it hesitates before starting each cut lol. I find that hard to believe.

I think my problem is finally fixed. My daughters boyfriend found out that it was the magnet that was too strong. It was holding too tight and why it would lag when starting a cut. He fixed the problem by inserting a piece of paper between the bottom part and the magnet. It works perfect now, no hesitation/lagging!!! If anyone else has my issues, reply and Ill tell you how to fix it!!!

The problem my machine (Cake Cricut) is having is that the mechanism that holds the blade does not lower… the machine acts like it is cutting but the blade does not get lowered to cut. If I can push it down at the right time it will cut but then the blade will not lift between items. Is this something that can be fixed easily?

Cricut expressions:
Size dial not working. Remove cover and board. Wires seem ok.
There is very little resistance in dial.Reset machine. Still no luck.
Is this a board issue or a dial issue?
How do I fix??

Ok, I have fixed my problem. After several reset attempts that did not work. I completely removed main board and dial encoder board and disconnected every plug and then plugged all back in and pushed reset again before turning on and rotary encoder dial now works again.
If u are having the same problem it’s worth a try.easy to do.

Help! My Cricut Expression needs the drive belt that rotates the rollers for the loading and unloading of the mat. The belt frayed. It appears to be 7 1/2 x 3/8 inches. Any suggestions of where I might purchase. Provo Craft has been beyond unhelpful.

My wife has a Cricut Personal that is non-functional. She picked it up on clearance some time ago but just got around to trying it. When the power button is pressed, the relay clicks, the power button and the two left columns of the keyboard light up, the display shows 8 solid gray rectangles, the blade holder moves to the “up” position, and that’s all it does. All keyboard buttons are nonresponsive except power.

When hooked to a computer, the computer sees the USB/RS232 device.

Holding “stop” for 5 seconds while powering up does NOT produce the “beep” that indicates it is in firmware-update mode, and the firmware-update software fails.

I have disassembled both the bottom and sides. Keyboard and display connectors are all seated properly.

I probed the keyboard and display connectors on the motherboard with a DVM, and found +5v on both connectors, but NO 12v on either. I suspect the 12v regulator is bad but haven’t located it yet. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.

My cricut expression has a broken size dial. I’ve taken it apart and it looks like a fairly straight forward fix but my question is this: do I need a size dial from another expression or are the dials interchangablable between different models?
Thank you so much for all you knowledge and help!!

I have a cricut create machine and my blade is dragging like you mentioned. I have taken off the green front and pinched the two ends like u showed in the pic, and it didnt fix the problem. Where can I get a new one or is there another solution.?

I believe I fried my motherboard in my circuit express. Is there a way to test it and is there a place to buy one? What happened was…. I used the wrong plug. Yea dumb. Lol can you give me some info please? Thank you!
Daphne Miles

I have troubleshot a start problem on a cricut model crex001. I am looking for the start relay, P/N HJR-3FF-S-Z 18VDC, located on the keyboard PCB. I was hoping I would be able to purchase one from you from one of your unused PCB’s. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks.

Hi there. After a long, tedious operation, I feared my Cricut was dead. During the autopsy however, we discovered what the major damage was….one of the belts that work to pull the mat through had gotten chewed up and several teeth were missing. I was frantic because I use my Cricut not only for fun stuff at home, but for projects at work as well. I have come to depend on it!!! A friend of mine on FB told me to check out this site. http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/121/1094/=vr7og8 . The belt I need is 5.2″ long and 1/4″ wide. They have them!!!! I have ordered two and hopefully that will work. Also, I want to let people that have a Cricut know what caused the issue. My mat(s) had lost their stickiness, so I sprayed them with Elmer’s Spray adhesive. Worked great Until…….. the gumminess on the edges of the mat got balled up in the feeder slots. Anyway, FYI…….if you are going to use a spray adhesive on your mat, make SURE to cover the edges so the adhesive does not go on them!

We have a Personal Cricut that is about 5 years old. The drive for the mat feed became noisy and struggled to load the paper, becoming worse over a short time period. It also wasn’t cutting in the correct position which seemed to be related to the problems with the mat feed. Today I worked on it trying to find what was going on. First we ran the stepper motor for the mat feed and held the shaft of the motor to gauge how much torque it had. It seemed to run reasonably well when the motor was being put through the startup sequence, but when we tried running the stepping motor using the “load paper” button, the shaft would not rotate at all but did bump each time the button was pressed. We then took the main circuit board out and visually inspected the joints for the transistors for that motor and the rest of the board and it all looked reasonable. We then reconnected the main board up and measured the voltages on the pins of the transistors for the mat feed stepper motor. It was then that I realised something was very wrong because on transistor three from the motor end, there was a constant 12V even when the motor was not being called upon to do anything. The voltages on the other transistors were close to zero, and when the “load paper” was pressed, the voltages on the other transistors moved about 0.1V away from zero for an instant then went back to zero. It was then that I noticed that the No 3 transistor was getting very hot (hot enough to burn my fingertip). I have reached the limit of my understanding of how to diagnose the problem further and am hoping that someone can provide some guidance.
Thankyou

HELP! I have a Circut Expression. The character keys 4 through 9, space, and back space (with the Plantin SchoolBook cartrige) don’t work. Anyone have the same problem, and can you fix it, and how? I am desperate for an answer.

Thank you very much for your helpful and great blog. I have a circuit expression. Turning the size wheel does not change the size. I am suspect that the little size wheel circuit board, and probably the encoder that the wheel is hooked on to, is defective. I was wondering if you have any spare size wheel circuit boards to sell ?

Hi,
Im having troubles with my spring in the “train” part of the machine. Tried to fix it by pinching the two parts you mentioned, but nothing seems to be moving. Shall I just give up on it? Thank you!

Hi, I’m another UK Cricut user. I have a Cricut mini which is doing the blade dragging thing ” The machine seems to operate normally, except that the blade drags in some places, cutting where it shouldn’t, and hangs up in some places, not cutting where it should”, I use my Cricut a lot so I was really pleased to find instructions how to fix the problem! Unfortunately mine doesn’t look anything like the photo and there are no screws I can see, so I am not sure how to follow the rest of your instructions! I would be really grateful for some advice, as I don’t think there will be anyone in the UK who can do repairs.
Many thanks.

The circuit board under the power button blew a surface mount resistor right next to where the power cord that goes to the main board is plugged in. Do you have a replacement board or the top assembly with the lcd screen and buttons? My model is CREX001. The lcd screen is on the left hand side.

Hi, I am looking for the screw that holds the tension on the blade. In your picture of the cradle it is the little silver screw. If you happen to have on and would like to sell it or if you know where I might get one that would be super.
Thank you,
Linda Sonday

hi! i have a cricut expression. (i got it used) and since ive got it i notice it doesnt cut a perfect circle or anything. it doesnt cut excatlly what it should its a tiny bit off. like when i cut a letter it doesnt come back to the exact spot but a tiny bit beside it. it rather frustrating to have things cut a little wonky. is there a way to fix this?

Hi Kathy- I have not encountered or solved this problem myself yet, but if it was my machine I think I would first want to know if the issue seems to occur on only on one axis or both.

If it’s on the “forward & back” axis, I would check carefully for anything sticky that is supposed to slide against the cutting mat, maybe at the edges? Or conversely something that is inconsistently grippy (and slipping a little one way but not the other).

If it’s on the “left right” axis, I might check for friction in the carriage mechanism, and (with the machine turned off), move the carriage all the way back and forth to look for tight spots or missing belt teeth or anything like that..

The way stepper motors work, the step size should always be the same every time in either direction, and -I believe- that only friction issues will cause movements in one direction to be longer than those in the opposite direction.

ive done some playing around… i did some cleaning to see if that was it and then i did some radom cutting to see what. ive just been doing circle and it seems that it doesnt matter what speed it is. it also doesnt matter what pressure number that is on the blade holder but when i have the pressure dial on min it cuts a perfect circle but of course not thru the paper. when iput it on low pressure it starts to get a little lopsided and on medium it gets worse and on high it worse yet and on max it quite bad. how does the pessure dial work? can it be something there??

Im wondering if maybe your carriage or something else is loose, causing sloppiness in the cutter. If you grab the carriage cover with your hand and try to wiggle it, does it feel reasonably tight to the track? When the blade holder is secure in the clamp, can you feel any play other than in the strictly up & down direction?

Secondly, If the cutting mat is hanging down in the front, it can make the mat come up and cause sloppiness. I keep a thin book under the front cover of the machine which raises it up to be horizontal. But, I don’t see how this would cause you to cut ovals.

ill check those things. it seems when im cutting a circle with the pressure up the first half of the circle is good then the second half it almost stalls for a bit and stutters almost and then keeps going then it does it again when it finishes the circle. and when you look closely at the circle you can see that at those spot there is a straight spot kind of… so not really sure what that all means but ill check the last to things you suggested and see if that is anything.

I recently purchased a second hand Cricut CRV2001 – as soon as I removed it from the box and turned it on it made an awful grinding noise ( I saw the post above and I was able to fix it) now the cutting blade won’t cut through paper it just makes a slight impression on it. I turned the machine off to try another power supply and now the machine won’t turn on!! I can hear the relay click when I push the power button but nothing happens. Both power supplies have been tested with other devices so I know it’s not that. Please help!!

I’m going to bet there is a problem with the 5v voltage regulator or the components or board traces surrounding it. I fixed one a few months ago with this problem, and it turned out there was a broken via at the large capacitor adjacent to the 5v regulator. A simple jumper wire from the top of the board to the bottom (at the same spot) solved the problem. Check carefully for continuity.